New KeyHolder
by EnergyMageFrea
Summary: Lucy's story comes to an end, and Fairy Tail falls into grief with her gone. They don't smile, laugh, and hardly talk. When Lucy died, her keys were never found, along with her killer. What will happen to Fairy Tail when a strange young woman suddenly shows up with all of Lucy's keys, having no idea why she has them? Many of your favorite parings!
1. Chapter 1- The End Of The Beginning

**Chapter 1**

**The End of the Beginning**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

"HELP ME!" A shrill scream pierced the air. The birds that had been resting in the tops of the trees lifted off, wings flapping madly. The small group of wizards came to a stop as the scream reached their ears and their eyes widened.

"Lucy..." They breathed before dashing off into the trees, searching desperately for the blonde Celestial Mage. A pinkette lead the group, dashing madly as he relied on his nose to find her. Beside him his blue Exceed partner flew along side him, just on the verge of activating Max Speed as he kept up with the pinkette.

All their hearts were pounding, tensions high. They had been separated from Lucy a little bit ago, their mission had gone wrong from the very beginning. Behind the blue Exceed and madly dashing pinkette, raced an Ice Mage, a red-head, a small girl and her white Exceed partner.

They needed to find her, they _had_ to!

"NATSU!" Another scream pierced the air and they ran faster. The sky was suddenly becoming dark with thick grey clouds and a chill wind picked up. They had never heard Lucy scream like this before, they hadn't thought it possible of the sweet, kind Celestial Mage to make such a horrible noise.

Another scream shot up from the trees, but was abruptly cut off and they all sweatdropped.

They all came to a dead stop as the trees thinned out into a clearing, their eyes growing wide in horror. Blood littered everything, the ground was torn up, and the trees had deep slashes in their bark.

In the middle lay a broken, mangled, ripped, bloody body. The once beautiful golden hair was matted with both blood and dust. The clothes were ripped, along with the skin where the blood had slowed to a stop long ago. She was cold, pale, lifeless.

They were all frozen in horror, before tears started to stream from all their eyes. Not even Healing Magic could fix this, she was already gone, and they knew it.

Natsu stumbled forward numbly and fell to his knees beside her, lifting her limb body up and crying silently. Gray quickly crouched down and turned Wendy away from the horrible sight as he pulled her close and let her sob into his shirt, keeping his own crying silent. Erza stared in utter shock at the blonde, she couldn't move, couldn't think.

Happy pulled Carla into a hug as she stared to cry too and Happy cried with her, they had been to late... _Utterly_ late...

Natsu's face lifted toward the sky, eyes shut tight. Lightning flashed down as the storm broke out over them, and the thunder was drowned out by his voice.

"LUCY!"

* * *

The usually rowdy and happy Fairy Tail Guild in Magnolia fell into a state of disarray. No one smiled, no one laughed, no one hardly even spoke. Magnolia was hit by constant rain since Lucy died, despite Juvia having felt Lucy as a Love Rival, she still had considered Lucy as one of her friends.

Lucy's best friend Levy had been hit pretty hard by the news, and now she only found comfort in a certain Iron Dragon who seemed affected by the blondes death more than anyone would have thought. Erza became silent, serious, never joking and never smiling after that.

Gray had fallen silent too, the only time he would seem to ever speak is when he was trying to get Juvia to calm down. Wendy seemed a little haunted by what she had seen, and she never seemed to stop crying after it happened.

Natsu was the worst. No one had ever before seen the look of utter horror in his eyes until after Lucy died. It was like the sight if seeing her bloody and lifeless was forever etched into his mind.

Those in the Guild who had not been there to find her, were the truly lucky ones. They wouldn't have been able to handle the sight, the ones who had seen it were to be forever haunted by the memory.

Her funeral was held, and the entirety of Fairy Tail stood assembled in the Church Cemetery as they cried and said their goodbyes to their once beloved Celestial Mage. Flowers were placed upon her headstone, and the rain pounded down ever relentlessly.

It seemed that no light would be found in that Guild ever again.

Lucy's keys were never found after that, and they had no idea who had been responsible for her death. Any attempt at finding her killer ended in a dead end, and they didn't have the heart to keep searching for long.

Fairy Tail would never be as it once was, without Lucy there.

* * *

The train traveled over its tracks smoothly as the moonlight bounced off the metal. Inside everything was dark and hardly anyone sat in the cars.

In the last car of the train a young woman was leaned up against the window with her back, and her feet stretched out in front of her on the seat. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes closed as she slept on.

Every time the train would bounce or jerk the slightest bit, tinkling echoed through the empty car. A large ring full of golden and silver keys could be seen hanging from the young woman's belt.

She fidgeted in her sleep, and her arms hugged her body more tightly.

* * *

_Inside of her mind, everything was dark and she stood watching a golden light slowly approach her. She blinked in surprise to see a small girl with very long pale blonde hair and pupil-less green eyes wearing a pink dress and no shoes, walking toward her. The girl was surrounded by light and she smiled softly at the young woman as she drew near._

_"Hello," the small girl smiled and the young woman blinked a few times._

_"Your the one that's been telling me to head to this city, aren't you?" The young woman asked and the girl nodded._

_"I am. I have come here to tell you what to do, so you may start down the right path." The girl replied. "When you arrive here, find a place to stay and, if you would do me a favor, join the Local Guild."_

_The young woman blinked in surprise. "Join the Local Guild? Why?" She asked. The girl suddenly looked very sad as she let out a small sigh._

_"They have fallen into sorrow, and I hope that you may be able to lighten their moods again." The girl replied._

_"Why me?" The young woman asked._

_"You were chosen by the previous owner of those keys." The girl replied with a sad smile. "I think you would be a good influence on them, and I believe you were chosen for a reason." The girl replied._

_"And that reason would be?"_

_The girl shook her head and smiled. "I do not know for sure, perhaps in time we'll see what it is." She chuckled a little and the young woman shook her head slightly, but smiled a little too._

_She liked it when people laughed, when people smiled._

_"When you decide to speak to these spirits." The girl continued. "I would suggest talking to the leader first, I feel he will be more willing to listen to your story." The girl told her._

_"Story? I don't even know why I have these keys." The young woman told her and the girl nodded._

_"I'm aware, but that story will have to wait for now. When you find a place to stay, I will appear to you in your next dream. But for now, its nearly time for your stop." The girl explained, and the dream faded away._

* * *

The young woman blinked open her eyes to see dim darkness, and she was aware of the train slowing down. It was almost time to get off. She swung her feet to the floor and rested her hand on her hip to make sure the keys were still there. Feeling the cool metal on her skin seemed to calm her rising nerves, she was always nervous in new places, especially where she would meet new people.

But even then, she like meeting new people, it kept life interesting.

She got to her feet as the train halted, and she picked her bag up from the empty chair across from her. The sun was starting to peak over the horizon as she stepped off the train and took a deep breath.

New town, new people, new keys, and a new start.

She smiled a little as she began to walk forward.

_This should be interesting..._

* * *

**New story! I've had this idea for awhile now and I was planning on starting it sooner, but instead I got going with my second story, "Energy Magic'. I will be working on that story along with this one, and I hope all you enjoy this as it gets going! Maybe along the lines of reading this one, you might want to give my first story 'Lost Life' a try? It's the first part of one of my OC's and Energy Magic is the second part, so if your interested you'll need to read 'Lost Life' first!**

**I you love Lucy, I apologize for killing her off, please don't get too mad about it! :)**

**I promise things will pick up here, but it might seem a bit slow at first, because I have to set up this new character in her new life first. Follow, Fav, and Review please! I always love to hear what you guys think.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue reading!**


	2. Chapter 2- Settling In

**Chapter 2**

**Settling In**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

The young woman dropped her bag on the floor as she stepped inside her apartment. It was a cute two room, one bathroom, one kitchen apartment that was backed by the forest near the edge of the town.

She placed her hands on her hips, sweeping her soft blue gaze over the room. She was tall, slender, and with a slightly larger bust than average, with a nice curvy figure.

Her hair was a long, pale light blonde, and it was tied into two loose ponytails that hung down, that reached her mid back, and tied off with two light blue ribbons with little stars on them, and her bangs along with some of her had was left down to hang around her face. Some of her bangs were swept to the side to completely cover her left eye.

She was wearing a pair of jean shorts with a leather belt hung loosely around her waist with the ring of keys hanging from a loop. She wore an open-necked white shirt with a black under-shirt underneath it, and the white shirt hung down to leave her shoulders bare. She also wore simple white shoes with black laces. A black chain hung around her neck with a dark grey key attached to it, and it was half-way tucked into her shirt.

She smiled a little as she lifted both her hands up in front of her and closed her eyes. Gold and white magic began to circle around her feet and spiral around the room, and all in a flash, the room was filled with things.

The empty dresser in the corner was filled with clothes along with the closet, and the bare mattress now was covered with a black comforter with multi-colored spirals stitched into it along with a few dots and stars, with matching pillows resting against its head.

The window beside the bed suddenly had curtains hung up around it, and opened to let in the sunlight. On the desk in the corner sat paper, pencils, pens, and a few pictures. The bookshelf that had been empty moments before was filled with several books, and posters and decorations littered the room. On the window sill sat a pretty plant with light blue flowers. She turned on her heel and walked into her kitchen, opening up the fridge and frowning a little to see it almost empty.

She had learned to use requip magic so she could store items in her own space without having to lug everything around all day, and the only food item she had stored away in her magic storage, had been a large bag of apples. She sighed and took an apple out from the fridge, and closed it, heading away toward her bedroom again.

She took a bit of the red fruit and smiled at the sweet taste, and she sat down on her bed with her legs crossed. Her hand reached to her waist where she took the ring of keys from her belt and held them out in front of her as she continued to eat the apple. There were several golden ones, and a few silver ones too.

She let out a long sigh as she let her hand fall into her lap along with the keys. Her mind flashed back to her dream where the strange young blonde girl had appeared before her. She didn't know why she had been chosen of all people to try and cheer up the Guild in this town. What the hell was she gonna do? She didn't even know if she would fit in around here to start with.

Then she had to wonder why these Keys had come to her in the first place, she had no idea why she had them. All she knew is that she had been sitting on a park bench in another town, when she suddenly felt a weight in her pocket, and she pulled out the ring of keys, along with a note that simply read,

_'Take care of them.'_

No name, no explanation.

She took another bite of her food, and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the floor. She quickly fished a wrinkled piece of paper from her pocket and straightened it out to see the writing on it. Four simple words, and yet she didn't know why she had received the note. She frowned and set the paper down n the bed next to her, she could feel sadness coming off of the paper, and she hated to think of what memories may have come from the writer.

She could see fragments of peoples memories by touching them or things that belonged to them, but only if she wanted to. Writing like that, she could probably get something small from it, but she was sort of afraid of what she might see. Even now too much sadness was coming from the paper, and she found herself reluctant to try.

She took the last bite of her apple, before folding the paper up and jumping from her bed to walk over to her desk and stick it inside a drawer. Turning away she headed back into her kitchen and threw the apple core away, before heading back into her room and taking a black messenger bag from her closet and pulling the strap over he neck to rest on her shoulder.

She needed to go into town and buy some food for her empty fridge and pantry. She glanced toward the door once, then glanced back to her bed where she had left the ring of keys. She bit her lip in thought, before slowly walking over and picking up the keys. The clinked together and she quickly dropped them into her bag instead of attaching them back onto her belt.

Grabbing what money she had left from a lockbox in a bottom drawer of her desk, she put the money in her bag and turned toward her door. She didn't feel like going alone, yet she didn't know anybody in this town to go with.

She smiled as she lifted her hand to the dark grey key hanging from the chain around her neck, and it easily came loose from the chain magically and she held the key out in front of her. At least she always had one of her best friends close, and she knew her friend wouldn't mind going shopping with her.

She smiled nervously and sweatdropped, she only hoped that this certain friend wouldn't want her to but her so much treats, she only had so much money to spend.

"Open: Gate of the Great Bear," She swiped the key out to the side as golden magic streamed in the air. "Ursa Major!"

A flash of pale grey light appeared before her, and she waited patiently for the smoke to clear. Before her stood a young woman with medium length grey hair and golden yellow eyes. She wore a dark blue sweater with silver specks dotting it, where two hoody strings hung down with fluffy white balls on the end, slim black pants, and comfy fur boots. Her hands had irregularly long and sharp nails, and her canines were longer than normal and pointy. In her grey hair, two dark grey bear ears stuck out from the top of her head.

The spirit smiled toothily at her and jumped up and down in excitement.

"Oh, Lumie! (Loom-ee) It's sooo good to see you again!" The spirit told her happily and the young woman smiled at her.

Her full name was, Alumina Filiac.

"Long time no see, Ursa." She replied. Ursa jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the other young woman tightly, before pulling away and finally stopping with her jumping.

"What are we gonna do today? Where are we by the way?" Ursa asked, her yellow eyes darting around the room. "This is isn't where we were last time." Alumina nodded.

"We're in Magnolia, I've moved in here and I plan on joining the local guild, so I can earn more money." Alumina quickly explained. "But I have to settled in first, and I need to go to the market to get some food for my kitchen." She explained, and she didn't miss the glint that came into Ursa's eye as she mentioned food.

Alumina silently sighed, she was going to end up spending more money than she wanted to.

"I could use the company, what do you say?" She asked and Ursa stared jumping up and down again, nodding furiously with her hands clasped together in front of her, and pulled up to her chest.

"Oh yes! Yes! Of course I'll come with you!" Ursa exclaimed and Alumina chuckled at her hyperactive attitude.

"Then come on." Alumina told her as she began to walk toward her door, and Ursa followed along beside her, hardly able to contain her excitement. The two made their way down the busy streets as they made their way toward the Market Place in town. Alumina hooked her hands behind her back and smiled at Ursa who was skipping along beside her.

"What have you been up to, huh Lumie?" Ursa asked as she began to walk backwards directly in front of Alumina. Alumina took a minute to think about her answer, before sighing.

"I sort of came into possession of these keys." She started and at once Ursa's bubbly attitude calmed down once she saw how serious Alumina was acting.

"Keys? Who are they, and when did you get them?" Ursa asked.

"There are a lot, more than half the zodiac if I had to guess, and a few silver keys too. I got them about a week ago, they just appeared in my pocket for no reason." She told the cheerful spirit. "There was a note that said 'Take care of them', but no name. And not only that, but there's been this girl coming to me in my dreams, she told me to come here, and join the local guild." Alumina explained.

Ursa's yellow eyes narrowed as she thought about what her master had told her.

"And do you think this girl in your dreams knows why you suddenly have all of these keys?" Ursa asked, the bear spirit seemed to know exactly what Alumina was thinking half the time, and the blonde nodded.

"I do. And I want to know why I have them, why I was the one to get them." Ursa nodded slowly,

"Are you planning on making contracts with these new keys? You haven't done that, or I would already know about it." Ursa told her, a smile pulling at her lips. "I think it would be good for you to contract more spirits, just don't forget about me when you do." Ursa smiled and Alumina smiled back.

"Like you would ever let me forget you." She told the spirit who chuckled in reply. They had arrived in the marketplace already, and Ursa immediately picked out a stand with several sugary treats for sale. Ursa looked over the food with wide eyes, and she turned a toothy grin and hopeful eyes on her master. Alumina sighed and walked up to the stand,

"Alright Ursa, but go easy on the food ok? I only have so much money to spend, and I still need food for my house." Alumina told her as she paid for the treats and she was handed a bag full of them, which in turn she handed to Ursa, giving the spirit a serious look. Ursa smiled wider and nodded her head furiously as she accepted the bag of treats.

"Of course Lumie!" She exclaimed and Alumina stepped past her to buy what she needed. The entire time Ursa snacked on the treats she had been given while Alumina walked around and bought what she needed, using her magic to send the food to her magic storage so she wouldn't have to carry all of it.

By the time she was done, the sun was sinking and the shops were starting to close. She headed back to her home with Ursa bouncing along beside her, until the two stopped at her door, and Ursa gave her master a wave goodbye.

"Hopefully I'll see you soon Lumie!" Ursa said cheerfully as she disappeared into a grey haze and Alumina headed inside. She put all the food she had sent to her magic storage away and she headed into her bathroom to take a long warm bath. When she was done she wring her damp hair out letting it fall around her face and cover her left eye completely again, and pulled on her pajamas, a pair of soft black shorts, and a white tank top.

She settled down into her bed and sighed, the girl said she would appear to her in her next dream. That meant she was expecting an explanation as soon as she fell asleep. Alumina glanced sideways to look out her dark window, she only hoped that she was doing the right thing.

* * *

**Second Chapter up and I hope your enjoying it so far, thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3- Believe Me

**Chapter 3**

**Believe Me**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

_Alumina waited patiently for the small blonde girl to make her way toward her once sleep had taken hold of her. She wanted an explanation, needed one. And something was telling her that this girl knew more than she did. Why else would she have been told to come to Magnolia, and asked to join the Local Guild here? And why in the hell had she come into possession of all these keys in the first place?_

_The blonde girls stopped before Alumina and smiled sweetly, "Hello Alumina, I'm glad your starting to settle in. But I can tell you want answers, and I did promise to explain all I could the next time we met." The girl told her and Alumina nodded._

_"Yeah, so what's going on here?" Alumina asked and the girl sighed softly._

_"The story starts with the previous owner of those keys that appeared to you. She was a dear member of the Guild here, and she was killed almost two months ago. From what I can gather she used what was left of her Magic to send all of her keys to the most worthy person, and the keys were sent to you." The girl explained and Alumina blinked in confusion._

_"Me? I don't even know this chick, why was I picked?" Alumina asked and the girl smiled at her._

_"I do not know for sure, but if I had to guess, in her dying moments Lucy saw what was in your heart, your kindness and dedication, especially to the spirit you already have. Lucy was very kind to her spirits and she considered everyone of them her friends, much like how you consider Ursa your friend. I think it was for that reason the keys were sent to you." The girl explained._

_"You said Lucy died almost two months ago." Alumina pointed out. "But I only got her keys about a week ago, why did it take so long?"_

_"Her Magic could only send the keys so fast, and you were nowhere near Lucy when she died, that's why it took so long for her Keys to reach you." The Girl explained. Alumina nodded slowly, she could see that._

_"About this Guild, are you asking me to join to be Lucy's replacement?" Alumina asked and the girl shook her head._

_"No, I would never intend for you to be only Lucy's replacement. You have a good heart and a kind, cheerful heart. I hoped that you would find your own way of bringing some joy back into my Guild. It makes me sad to see them wading around in their grief this long, I only ask that you do everything in your power to bring happiness back into their lives once again." The girl replied. "Besides, you've kept to yourself and your spirit for too long my friend, the Guild may prove to bring your mood up at the same time. I think you'll fit in well." The girl smiled, and once again Alumina felt herself smile at the small girl's grin._

_"Alright, I guess trying to lighten their moods couldn't be too hard." Alumina replied and the girl smiled wider, dipping her head._

_"Thank you." She replied._

_"By the way, what actually happened to Lucy?" Alumina asked and the girl looked so sad again._

_"She was killed, nobody knows who did it." The girl replied quietly. Alumina frowned a little, she hated making people sad, so decided it best to drop the subject for now. The dream started to fade,_

_"What's your name?" Alumina asked._

_"Mavis, Mavis Vermilion." The girl smiled back as the dream faded completely._

* * *

Alumina blinked her eyes open as she glanced up at the ceiling, she was aware of morning light filtering through her window next to her bed. She slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, glancing sideways to see the trees our her window where her home backed the woods. Her hand raised up lightly to rest against Ursa's key that hung around her neck.

Now she had a better idea of why she had been given Lucy's keys, and Mavis had explained why she wanted her to join Lucy's Guild. She felt better to at least know now, but her stomach fluttered nervously when she thought about meeting all those new people, and her stomach fluttered more to think of speaking to Lucy's old spirits.

_Would they accept her as their new KeyHolder? Would they even believe her story?_

She had never felt so nervous about something like this before, she loved Celestial Spirits, she honestly thought they were one of the best things in the world. She had been so happy when she ha received Ursa as her first key, and she loved the Great Bear Spirit so much, she would do anything for her, and Ursa would do the same for her.

Alumina took a deep breath and crushed the butterflies in her stomach, she shouldn't need to worry about things like that. Her legs swung off the bed as she got up and headed toward her bathroom, turning on the shower and taking her pajamas off. She stepped under the warm water and let her hair soak up the water, before washing it out with sweet smelling soap and stepping out again.

Alumina wrapped her damp body in a towel and headed back into her room where she headed to her dresser and pulled out some clothes before getting dressed. She pulled on a pair of long slim jeans, a simple white shirt with a grey undershirt and hung her leather belt around her waist. She headed back into her bathroom to brush out her hair and put into her regular hairstyle, the two loose and low ponytails tied off with light blue ribbons with little stars. Her bangs along with some of her hair hung around her face, and she was extra sure to cover her left eye completely.

Stepping out of her bathroom she pulled on her white shoes wit the black laces and fished the large ring of keys out of her bag. She flipped through every key until she came upon one of the gold ones, it had a feline's head engraved on the top, and she slowly took the key from the loop. She placed the ring on her belt and held that single key in front of her.

Mavis had told her to talk to the leader first, and what reason would she have not to trust the girl? Alumina straightened her arm to hold they key in front of her as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Now or never.

"I call upon thee in the Spirit World, and beckon you to my side at once." Alumina said and her eyes opened as she swiped the key to the side. "Pass through the gate!"

The room was lit up with soft golden light, as a young man with spiky orange hair, tinted glasses, wearing a suit with a red tie appeared before her. Alumina blinked in surprise when he pointed a finger at her accusingly, right after his eyes rested on the key-ring hanging from her belt.

"Why do you have all of Lucy's keys? Who are you?" He growled and Alumina frowned a little at the less than friendly greeting. She let out an annoyed sigh and lifted her hand to rest on his and push his finger away from her face.

"Relax, I can explain that." She grumbled. She began to explain to him how she had come into possession of Lucy's keys, how Mavis had been visiting her, and that she planned on joining Lucy's old Guild.

She gave him a neutral stare, "I'm not the one that killed her." Alumina told him and he stiffened. "I know that's what you were thinking, all I ask is that you believe what I told you." Alumina murmured and he simply stared.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Alumina Filiac." She replied calmly and he fell silent, For awhile he simply looked her up and down, and she had to wonder what was going through his head. She wasn't lying, maybe he would be able to tell, at least she hoped he would be able to tell she wasn't lying. Alumina shrugged a little, "If it's not too much to ask, I was sort of hoping to make a contract with you, if that's ok?" She asked.

She had decided it better to get straight to the point, there was no use running around in circles with him if he were to try and find out more than even she knew. Again silence passed between the two, and Alumina let her one visible eye meet one of his, they were hazel, she could tell even with the glasses on. He let out a low sigh as he adjusted his glasses,

"I suppose I would be alright with that." He replied. "I only have one thing to ask of you." He took a step toward her. "I ask that you never abuse any of these spirits," His face leaned down to be inches from her own and suddenly a dangerous look came into his eye, Alumina kept herself from flinching away from him. "If you do, I will do anything to stop you." He growled.

Alumina smiled a little and brought a hand up to gently push his face away from her own. "You've got yourself a deal, I never hurt my spirits." She told him and he blinked at her answer. He dipped his head to her and placed a hand on his chest as he bowed slightly,

**Loke POV**

"My name is Leo, or you can call me Loke, and I will be available to help you whenever you need it." He told her with a straight face. Alumina felt excitement bubble up inside of her at his words, she really did like meeting new spirits. She jumped forward and caught his hands in her own as she smiled widely and his eyes widened in surprise at her actions.

"Alright, thanks Loke! I promise to take care of you and everyone else once I make contracts with them." She promised. "I can tell you meant a lot to Lucy and she loved you all, so I'll do everything in my power to make sure all of you are happy from here on out." Alumina let go of his hands and he smiled a little at her.

To him, Alumina sort of sounded like Lucy, but even the thought of his beloved Master caused a pang of sadness to sweep through him. He only hoped Alumina would be as good a master as Lucy had been, none of the other spirits deserved to end up with a bad master.

Alumina looked at him with a bright smile, "I'll send you back for now, and I'll go ahead and set contracts up with everyone else." Alumina told him as she gently patted the keys at her waist. She suddenly looked a little nervous and her feet shuffled on the floor, "But... would it be ok for me to call you back out before I head to the Guild? You knew them didn't you? I am a little nervous of what they might think..." Alumina mumbled. "I think it might be easier for them to warm up to me if your there to back me up." She explained.

Loke blinked a few times in surprise, he hadn't been expecting her to ask him that. But when his mind flashed to some of the people in the Guild who were a bit denser than others... they might not want to listen to her story, and they might try to attack her. After all, he had immediately pegged her as Lucy's possible killer when he saw she had all of Lucy's keys, it was rather odd she would have _every single one of them,_ if you didn't know the story. But he didn't think she was lying, she sounded honest to him.

Loke smiled at her and nodded, "Sure, like I said, you can call on me anytime." He replied and she smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank you." She replied, before closing his gate and sending him back to the Celestial World.

* * *

**Another chapter up, and thanks to all of you who followed or added this story to your favorites! It means alot!**


	4. Chapter 4- Enter: Alumina Filiac

**Chapter 4**

**Enter: Alumina Filiac**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

_Virgo, Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, Aries, Gemini, Lyra, Aries, Crux, Plue, Capricorn, Pyxis, Horologium, Sagittarius, Aquarius..._

_How many damn keys could one person have?!_

Alumina collapsed into her back on top of her bed as she panted and tried to steady her breathing. She had spent the past two hours simply summoning up spirits and talking with them.

Fortunately, she had managed to convince them all of her story and how she had come into possession of all of them, and explained what her intentions were. She didn't intend to hurt them, betray them, abuse them. All she wanted to do was work with them, and most seemed to accept the fact right away.

Though she did notice almost all of them were a bit hesitant, and she could see the pain light up in their eyes when Lucy was mentioned. They really all loved their old Master, but they had to accept the fact she was gone.

Celestial Spirits live through so many KeyHolder's and they do need to make new contracts with new Mages once their old masters pass away. All of her new spirits knew that, they knew they had to move on, and she was as good as they were going to get.

Alumina sighed; she only hoped in time they would come to like her a bit more, right now she could practically see how unsure they were of her. Most tried to hide their suspicion at least a little bit, but one Spirit in particular made it very clear how much she didn't trust Alumina.

Aquarius was one of those Spirits that Alumina thought it best to never cross, to be honest the mermaid made her nervous. But most were nice, but it didn't take much to notice the few quirks and odd things with the spirits.

For example, Virgo was oddly expressionless and monotone, Aries seemed shy and unsure, Taurus was a complete perv, Sagittarius seemed a little... Odd, to say the least.

There were a number things she had noticed right away, but she honestly didn't mind their quirks, it made life more interesting. She let out a long and low sigh as her breathing became steady again and she looked up to stare at her ceiling. Even with the few hours she had spent summoning all of them, there was still old you of light left in the day and she ought to head toward the Guild, she had to get to it eventually anyway.

But right at that second she couldn't find the energy to get up and move, she felt exhausted and drained, as one might expect to be when you summon so many spirits in one day. For that reason, Alumina allowed herself a good while to simply let herself lay on her bed and rest up a little, before she would finally decided to head toward the Guild Hall.

She had to admit, summoning up the Zodiac Keys took more Magic Energy out if her than it did to summon Silver Keys. She knew it was because Golden Keys were stronger than Silver ones, but in some cases that wasn't always true.

Nobody had ever really seen Ursa mad, and when the Bear Spirit really got her temper to rise, she was a complete and utter terror.

After she felt like she would be fine to walk again, she slowly sat up and hooked the key-ring back onto her belt, but not before grabbing one of the Golden Keys and holding it out in front of her. Alumina's mouth opened as she was about to say something, but she stopped when golden light appeared in front of her and she let her hand fall.

Her visible eye widened in complete shock when the very spirit she had been about to call, was standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets and calm expression on his face.

"How the hell did you...?" She mumbled and he smirked a little.

"I can pass through my gate on my own." He told her. "I thought I should spare you the trouble of summoning me, considering you've already used up most if your Magic Power summoning everyone non-stop." He explained and Alumina smiled a little.

"Thanks." She murmured as she hooked his key back onto her belt. She stepped toward him and passed him, "Lets head over to the Guild shall we?" She suggested and he followed her out.

Alumina frowned a little when he started following her on her left, and quickly switched over so he was on her right, it was easier for her that way. Loke faintly wondered why she had switched sides, but decided he ought to ask later instead of now.

Alumina blinked in surprise when Loke hooked his arm around her own and she glanced at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked and he smirked.

"I can't let a beautiful lady like yourself stray to far, who knows what will happen if your Loyal Lion isn't around?" He asked and Alumina could immediately tell he was playing with her.

_So there's another quirk to add to the list, Loke is a play-boy._

"Whatever you say..." She mumbled with a low sigh. "I've heard this Guild was rising in popularity, but now its going down again. Any idea why?" She asked and Loke stiffened.

Alumina had a good idea as to why, but she thought she might ask anyway. Besides, this way she could know how much about the Human World Loke knew of recently, considering she was pretty sure he hadn't been called back here in a while.

"I wouldn't know why, this is the first time in a long time I've come back to the Human World." He replied, and left it at that. Alumina nodded a little, and the Lion Spirits eyes narrowed as he went in to deep thought. She gently pulled on his arm to steer him out if the way of people walking by, she wasn't going to snap him out of his own thoughts unless she needed to.

They were nearing the Guild Hall now, and she slowly came to a stop when it rose up in front of them. Loke stopped with her, simply because his grip around her arm had made him stop when she did. Alumina was looking the hall over with a curious expression and her gaze reserved a moment longer on the sign at the top, 'Fairy Tail', and Loke finally snapped out of his thoughts to glance down at her.

"Something wrong?" He asked and she blinked a few times.

"It's so quiet..." She murmured and he looked at the hall in surprise to see she was right. The Fairy Tail Guild he knew, was always loud and rowdy. He sweatdropped a little, the unusual silence was unnerving him.

"Your right." He muttered as he began walking and Alumina followed at his side. He reached his free arm out to push the heavy wooden doors open, and they both froze.

Alumina's jaw dropped out of pure shock, she had never seen so many people so depressed! Everyone was slouched, silent, sad, and it seemed as if some sort of dark cloud hung over the entire hall.

Loke's jaw dropped too, this wasn't the Fairy Tail he knew! No one was smiling, no laughing, no hearty brawling or drinking. Those who were drinking seemed only to be doing it to numb their emotions, and no one in the hall seemed to have any energy.

Alumina easily slipped her arm from Loke's and walked forward cautiously. No one had seemed to even notice the door opening, they all seemed to be too immersed in their own thoughts. _Dark, deep, sad thoughts..._

"Um... Hello?" Se called out into the hall, and nobody looked up. Alumina glanced behind her to see Loke looking frozen with shock at seeing his old Guild this way. "Hello? Anybody alive out there?" Alumina tried again, and still no one seemed to hear her.

_What am I, invisible?_

She thought with slight irritation, how could anybody be so depressed? Sure she was aware Lucy was a dear part of this guild, but the living members would do themselves no good moping around for the rest of their lives.

They had to move on, find some other happiness in their lives.

"What happened to all of you?!"

Alumina jumped in slight surprise when Loke shouted out behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see him looking a little angry. He didn't like seeing his Guild-mates like this, as he wouldn't stand for their odd behavior any longer.

At last, some of the members seemed to be woken up from their trances at the sound of his voice. Alumina's gaze rested on a raven haired young man who looked up, blinking the haze out of his dark eyes and glancing their way. She could see a scar crossing over the young mans forehead where his hair didn't quite cover it.

"Loke?" He murmured as his eyes grew wide, and he quickly walked toward them. "Is that you man?" He asked and Loke walked up to stand next to Alumina again.

"Yeah, what the hell is going on? Why is everyone like this?" Like asked as his eyes raked over the raven-haired young man standing in front of them. Loke's eyes narrowed and Alumina didn't miss the worry that lit up in the Lion Spirits eyes. "Gray, your not stripping!" He said in pure shock and the other young man now known as Gray looked down at himself slowly, he was fully clothed.

_Why would he strip?!_

"I guess I'm not..." Gray muttered, before glancing at Alumina, then back at Loke. "We haven't seen you in forever man, we thought we would never see you again." Gray told Loke, who frowned a little. "Whose this?" He asked as he pointed at Alumina.

"Why the Hell does she have Lucy's keys?!" A pink haired young wan with onyx colored eyes roared and Alumina flinched a little. She hadn't seen him when she came into the hall, and now she could see him standing up, eyes narrowed in fury and clenched fists surrounded in fire.

At his outburst, the rest of the hall seemed to come back to life, and Alumina suddenly found herself surrounded a whole lot of angry looking wizards casting suspicious glances at her once they too saw the ring of keys on her belt.

"Who the hell is she, Loke?" Gray growled dangerously as he eyes her.

She sweatdropped, and gave them a nervous smile.

"Uh... I can explain-"

"She's not an enemy." Loke spoke up as she stepped a little in front of her. "She's my New KeyHolder, and she's here to join the guild."

"But why does she have all of Lucy's keys?" The pinkette from before growled.

"Lucy gave them to her, before she was killed."

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**Sorry this is late getting posted, hope you enjoy it! Review, Follow, favorite!**


	5. Chapter 5- Fairy Tail

**Chapter 5**

**Fairy Tail**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

For a split second everyone in the hall froze, and Alumina took the small pause to sweep her one visible eye over everyone. There were several Mages here, and she could feel plenty of power coming off of all of them. But there were a few she could feel immense power coming off of, and she quickly made a mental note to try and not piss those few off.

The pinkette suddenly had a very haunted look in his eyes at the mention of Lucy's murder, and Alumina flinched at the sheer horror she could feel coming off of him so suddenly. He blinked a few times and returned to his suspicious feelings toward Alumina, and she stiffened when she saw his nose twitch and his eyes narrowed.

"You weren't anywhere near Lucy when she died." He growled. "I would have-"

Alumina raised a hand and gave him a sad smile.

"You would have what? Seen me? Scented me? Followed my scent because your first thought would have been, that I was Lucy's killer?" Alumina asked him and the pinkette faltered for a minute, as if he wouldn't have thought she would figure out his suspicions so quickly. She was aware of Loke glancing at her in surprise from the corner of her eye.

"I-I didn't.." The pinkette stammered and again Alumina cut him off with a shake of her head, still smiling sadly at him.

"You didn't have to. It's alright anyway, Loke thought the same thing too, so I don't blame you. It's only natural for you all to be suspicious of someone who shows up with all of Lucy's keys, not knowing who I am, or why I have them." Alumina told him. "It's ok for you to be wary of me, all I ask is that you listen to what I have to say."

Everything in the hall went deadly silent at her words, everyone's eyes were narrowed as they thought about what she said. Alumina noticed Loke cast a surprised look at the pinkette, who she could see was looking a little disturbed by the sudden turn of events.

But she looked away from the Lion Spirit toward the balcony hanging over the bar. She couldn't see anyone, but she had the feeling that there was somebody there. She looked ahead when footsteps echoed around the silent hall, and the crowd parted to reveal a small very old man walking toward her.

He halted just a few paces in front of her, and looked her over slowly with a neutral expression and arms crossed behind his back. Alumina looked down at him calmly, while everyone around them watched in utter silence, thy wanted to know what the old man was going to say.

"I don't hear any lie in your voice." The old man said at length. "I hear only honesty in it, and I trust that Loke has good reason to accept you as his new Master. He is a member of my guild, and I owe it to him to listen to your story." The old man told her and Alumina nodded stiffly, as he waved a hand to the side. "So tell us your story." He said and Alumina took a deep breath.

She began to retell everything that she had already explained to everyone of her newly contracted Spirits. The reactions around the hall were mixed, and she could see the genuine shock when she told everyone Mavis had been speaking with her. The reaction to Mavis' name was so extreme, Alumina had to pause in her story.

"Why does everyone look so shocked when I said Mavis?" Alumina asked.

"Only people who bear the Guild's Insignia should be able to see and hear her." A red-head told her quietly, where the armored Mage stood at the front of the assembled crowd. Alumina blinked in surprise, and cast a quick questioning glance at Loke.

The Lion Spirit hadn't mentioned that piece of information about Mavis when she had talked to him earlier. Loke only glanced back calmly, and Alumina looked away. "I only saw her in my dreams, maybe there's an exception for that..." Alumina suggested quietly.

She started up her story again, and finished it with the last part, when Mavis had asked her to join Fairy Tail. The old man had stayed silent through the entire explanation, and she noticed his eyes were narrowed and he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was looking at the ground, seeming to be in deep thought.

Alumina took his momentary silence to look over everyone in the hall, and let out a silent sigh to see most of those suspicious glares she had been receiving, had softened and turned into slightly unsure frowns. Maybe she had managed to convince a few of them she only had good intentions, and her gaze rested in the Pinkette who had challenged her before.

He was staring right at her, arms crossed over his chest, face neutral. A blue Exceed had flown up to him during her explanation to sit on his shoulder, looking her over curiously.

"What are you thinking, gramps?" Gray asked the old man after a long pause. When the old man stayed silent the red-head stepped forward.

"Master, this is your decision, are you planning on letting her join the Guild?" The red-head asked and Alumina stiffened.

_This old man was the Guild Master?_

"Yes." He replied and looked up at Alumina. Alumina felt happiness spread trough her at the answer, she was glad he had let her. "I don't have any grudge against her, and we are always welcome to new members." He continued and waved his hand at Alumina, gesturing her to follow him as he turned away.

Alumina followed him slowly and ignored the wary look the pinkette gave her as she passed. The old man jumped on top of the bar and sat down, while a white-haired young woman walked over and gave her a small strained smile.

"My name is Master Makarov." The old man explained and gestured a hand toward the white-haired woman who had begun to dig for something behind the bar counter. "This is Mirajane. I hope that you'll enjoy being part of this guild." Alumina nodded at him and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you so much. I'm sure being here will be great." Alumina told him and he gave her a small smile in return. Mirajane pulled a heavy book from behind the counter and a stamp. The book opened as Mirajane grabbed a pen and looked at her.

"Can I have your full name please?" Mirajane asked sweetly.

"Alumina Filiac." She answered and Mira nodded as she wrote the name down in the book and closed it, setting the pen aside.

"Where would you like your Guild Mark, and in what color?" Mira asked as she picked up the stamp and Alumina narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Light blue please," She held out her left hand. "And on the back of my hand, please." Alumina asked. She didn't miss the slight surprise that lit up in Mira's eyes, before the barmaid pressed the stamp down on her hand, and pulled away to reveal a clean, crisp light blue Fairy Tail Insignia. Alumina gave Mira a wide smile,

"Thank you." She thanked the bar-maid. She glanced up at the balcony once more and smiled to see Mavis sitting there, feet hanging from where she was positioned on the railing. "Hey Mavis!" She called cheerfully up to the ghost and Mavis smiled down at her.

Everyone's eyes widened upon finally noticing the ghost sitting up there, and a few who had seen Alumina glance up that way about ten minutes ago blinked in utter shock.

_Had Alumina somehow noticed Mavis was there before she received her Guild Mark?_

"Hello Alumina." Mavis greeted her. "I'm glad to see you already made contracts with all your spirits. Thank you for letting her join, 6th." Mavis said as she turned her attention on Master Makarov. Master nodded a little, and Mavis smiled more as she raised her hands. "Let us celebrate the return of one of our returning Members!" Mavis announced as her gaze rested on Loke, who looked a little flustered.

Alumina leapt at the chance of celebrating, she had to start cheering them up sometime.

"You guys missed Loke, didn't you?" She asked in a teasing time and a few of them smirked. Gray hooked an arm around Loke's shoulders, small smile spreading across his face.

"Of course we missed him." Gray replied and the entire hall erupted in a chorus of agreement. Alumina smiled at the sudden light attitude, and smiled more when Loke looked to be very happy to be back with his guild again. Her smile faded a little when she noticed the pinkette from before wasn't joining in in the fun.

The red-head from before approached her with a small blue haired girl.

"Welcome to the Guild." The redhead told her and held out a hand. Alumina reached out and took it, smirking at the right grip of the other woman. "My name is Erza Scarlet." Erza explained and their hands separated. "And this is Wendy Marvel." Erza told her as she gestured to the small blue haired girl beside her.

"H-Hi." Wendy stammered as she smiled nervously. Alumina smiled at the small girl.

"Hey guys. I hope we can get to know each other more." Alumina told the two. She looked up as three cats flew toward them, one white, another blue, and the last one black.

"My name is PantherLily." The black one told her.

"I'm Carla." The white one said politely.

"My name is Happy." The last of the three said as he flew circles around her head. "The grumpy guy over there is my partner Natsu." He explained as Happy pointed a paw toward the pinkette who was sitting in a corner with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the table in front of him.

"Please Excuse Natsu's behavior, Alumina." Erza told her. "Lucy's death... It hit him pretty hard.." Erza murmured.

"It hit all of you hard." Alumina told her quietly. "I understand what you guys must be feeling, I just hope we get along in time." Alumina told them and Happy day on top of her head, tail flicking back and forth behind him.

"Come on, we'll introduce you to everyone else." Erza told her an Alumina followed silently as Erza lead her around the hall to get acquainted with everyone, Happy still comfortably resting on her head.

Everyone seemed nice enough, but she could tell they still had pretty down moods despite the party going on for seeing Loke again after so long. Most were friendly, some were wary, and others like Natsu and a group of people named the Thunder God Tribe didn't really seem like talking, so she left them alone.

"Did you have any other spirits before getting Lucy's?" Levy asked tentatively. She was sitting down at a table with Erza, Wendy, the three Exceeds and a very silent Iron Dragon Slayer.

Alumina nodded, "I did, but only one." She replied and her gaze lit up with excitement. "Do you guys want to meet her?" Alumina asked excitedly and they all nodded at once, smiling a little at her enthusiasm. "Great, I hope you guys will like her, she's been my best friend for years." Alumina explained as she stood up and took a step away from the table as she easily took the silver key hanging around her neck off its chain. Holding it out in front of her she smiled, more of her magic power had been returned since she had drained herself summoning everyone of her new spirits earlier that day.

"Open: Gate of the Great Bear!" She swung the key to the side, "Ursa Major!" She called out as Ursa appeared before her, jumping up and down in excitement at being called out again to soon.

"Hey Lumie!" Ursa exclaimed as she bounced forward and gave Alumina a hug. Ursa jumped away and cast her gaze over the entire hall, before giving the group sitting at the table in front of her a toothy grin. "Hello! You guys are Fairy Tail right?" Her gaze switched to Alumina. "You got in?" Her gaze switched back to the others. "My name is Ursa, its nice to meet you!"

"Hi." Wendy the three Exceeds and Levy smiled at Ursa, while Gajeel just looked away with a small grunt. Erza smiled a little at the enthusiastic spirit, and her gaze rested on Alumina, as Ursa stared talking rapidly to Wendy, Levy and the cat trio, talking about all a manner of things with a toothy grin spread across her face.

"She certainly seems full of energy." Erza told her and Alumina nodded.

"She's always like this." Alumina replied. She opened her mouth to speak more, but stopped herself when an arm wrapped around her shoulder, and she glanced over to see Loke standing beside her with his other hand on his chest and eyes closed as he smirked a little.

"Did you need to call another Spirit?" He asked her. "Surely your Lion is more than-" He opened his eyes to look in the direction of Ursa, and he immediately fell silent, sweatdropping a little and looking utterly shocked. Alumina blinked a few times at his sudden reaction, before she noticed Ursa had fallen silent too, even though her back was facing both Alumina and Loke.

"Is there-" Alumina started and she sweatdropped when Ursa slowly turned toward the two, frown spread across her face and evil aura spreading around her body, intensifying when she saw Loke with an arm around Alumina.

"Leo..." Ursa growled. "What the hell do you think your doing?!" Ursa snapped at him, and Loke immediately jumped away from Alumina and backed away from the very scary looking Bear Spirit.

"Oh.. uh, n-nothing U-Ursa..." Loke stammered and Alumina blinked in shock to see how scared he looked, even if Ursa was a little scary at the moment.

The evil aura around Ursa faded as she let out a little, 'Mmhm'.

"I'll be t-talking with the g-guys..." Loke stammered as he scurried away. Everyone cast shocked gazes between Ursa and the running Loke, Alumina was lost. In an instant Ursa was next to Alumina as she leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Watch out for Leo, he's a really big play-boy." Ursa whispered. "If he does anything with you, I'll kill him." Ursa growled with a murderous glint in her eye and Alumina sweatdropped, smiling nervously at Ursa.

_What in the hell...?_

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**Enjoy this chapter and please review, follow and fav if you could!**


	6. Chapter 6- First Mission

**Chapter 6**

**First Mission**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

Alumina walked into the Guild Hall with a small smile spread across her lips and arms crossed behind her back. She had been in Fairy Tail for a week now, and everyone had started to warm up to her. Well, almost everyone anyway.

She let out along sigh at the thought.

Natsu still wouldn't talk to her, or even come near her, though she wasn't exactly sure why. When she had asked Natsu's Exceed partner Happy about it, the little creature said he hadn't the slightest clue as to why Natsu was acting that way. She wished he would open up to her, being in Fairy Tail would be more fun if all of its members liked her.

She headed over to a table where she could see Gray sitting with Juvia, and she gave them a smile as she sat down with them. "Hey guys, how are you doing?" She asked and Gray smiled back.

"Fine," He looked over to Juvia who wasn't smiling. Alumina glanced her way and tilted her head,

"Juvia is fine also..." Juvia mumbled and Alumina let out a silent sigh.

"Hey Gray." Alumina murmured and he blinked.

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to go on a job with me? You don't have to, I just thought I might ask. It doesn't look like you've been on one in awhile." Alumina asked and for a minute Gray stared as he thought it over.

"Sure." He smiled with a small shrug. "What harm could it do?"

Alumina smiled brightly at him, but tilted her head upon seeing Juvia glaring at her. "Love rival..." Juvia growled and Alumina sweatdropped a little.

"Would you like to come too Juvia?" Alumina asked and Juvia looked a little surprised at the question, before nodding slowly. "Great!" Alumina smiled. "Who wants to help me pick out a job?" She asked and Gray nodded his head at Juvia.

"You two go find one, it wont matter to me which one you take." He told them and Alumina got to her feet, Juvia got to hers, and Alumina grabbed the bluenette's wrist as she pulled her toward the Request Board, excitement rising.

"Lets go find one Juvia, this is going to be fun!" Alumina chuckled and Juvia smiled a little, only a little, at the Celestial Wizard pulling her toward the Request Board.

**Gray's POV**

Gray watched the two woman walk away with a small smile as he crossed his arms over his chest and he sighed, closing his eyes for a minute and leaning back in his chair. A loud thump sounded and the table shook as someone slammed their fist down on it,

"What the hell do you think your doing, popsicle?!" A voice hissed furiously.

Gray opened his eyes to see Natsu standing on the other side of the table, fists clenched and denting the wood of the table as he glared at him. Gray quirked an eyebrow,

"Excuse me?" Gray asked and Natsu frowned.

"Why the hell did you agree to go on a job with _her_?" Natsu hissed and Gray unhooked his arms as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Why shouldn't I? Alumina's nice, and she's done nothing wrong. Your just to stuck in the past to see that, hot-head." Gray growled at him and Natsu looked furious.

"You forget what happened to Lucy?" Natsu asked in a low voice and Gray flinched as the painful memory of seeing a bloody Lucy appeared before his eyes. "And now your helping the person who stole Lucy's keys?" Natsu hissed and Gray narrowed his eyes.

"Stole?" Gray muttered. "Alumina didn't steal Lucy's keys idiot, Lucy gave them to her." Gray hissed back and Natsu sniffed at the thought, a disgusted look spreading across his face.

"And you believe that lying bitch? There is no way in hell Lucy gave up her keys, she loved them." Natsu growled back as he crossed his arms over his chest, turning away from Gray. "Your just stupid to realize that she's lying to all of you." With that, Natsu walked away and Gray watched him go with narrowed eyes.

**Alumina POV**

Alumina let out a silent sigh and sweatdropped a little, she was looking at the Request Board with Juvia beside her as they swept their eyes over all the jobs. Her hearing was better than Natsu thought, because she had heard everything he said to Gray.

_Or maybe he wanted her to hear what he thought of her?_

She didn't know, but she needed to think of something else. If Natsu wanted to be that way, let him, she would find a way to deal with him later, right now she had a job to do.

Juvia reached forward and took a piece of paper from the board, read it, and handed it to her. "Juvia likes this one, what about you?" The Bluenette asked and Alumina swept her gaze over the paper.

* * *

_Request: Security needed for Mistress Belena's Ball_

_Requester: Mistress Belena_

_Reward: 30,000 Jewel_

* * *

_Details: The Ball is being held at BelantrassMansion, several nobles and officials will be attending. I order to preserve class and grace, security is needed to guard the premises and keep any Villains or Thieves away, and if necessary, escort unruly guests out._

Alumina smiled and looked at Juvia, "This looks like a great job Juvia, lets take it." Alumina told the Bluenette who smiled back and Alumina walked toward the bar with Juvia beside her, handing the paper to Mira. "Gray, Juvia and I would like this one." Alumina explained and Mira gave her a small and weary smile, stamped the paper and handed it back.

"Good luck." Mira and Master said as they walked back toward Gray.

"Thanks!" Alumina called over her shoulder with a bright smile at the two. Gray got up from his seat as they approached and stuck his hands in his pockets,

"Find one?" He asked and Alumina handed him the paper. His eyes swept over the writing as he read it, when he was done he glanced up and nodded. "Looks good, doesn't sound too hard, and the rewards big enough to split between the three of us." He told the two.

"See you in an hour at the Train Station?" Alumina asked and they nodded at her. "Great, I'm sure this job will be fun!"

* * *

Alumina gave the small shivering creature in her arms known as Plue, a small squeeze. She smiled at the tiny spirit, she was sitting down on a bench at the Train Station waiting for Gray and Juvia to show up. She was excited for this, it was her first mission after all. And she was going on it with nice people like Gray and Juvia, she had grown to like the two, they were friendly and funny.

Though she wasn't sure what that 'love rival' thing with Juvia was about, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She perked up when she saw Juvia and Gray walking toward her and she got to her feet, walking up to meet them halfway.

"Hey guys, ready to head out?" Alumina asked and they nodded. Alumina followed behind Gray with Juvia as the Ice-mage lead them onto the train and they took their seats. Gray sat down next to Juvia while Alumina sat across from them.

"Juvia wonders what sort of ball this will be?" Juvia murmured once the train started to move off. "Perhaps Juvia will be able to dance with Gray..." Juvia mumbled hopefully as her eyes lit up. Alumina glanced over at Gray to notice he was blushing faintly, chin resting in his hand and eyes closed,

"We're security Juvia, we wont be dancing." Gray told her and Juvia frowned a little as she twiddled with her thumbs.

"I wonder why she would really need Wizards as security though." Alumina spoke up. "It sort of sounds like she's expecting something to happen." She pointed out and Gray opened his eyes to glance her way.

"It does." He murmured and smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure that if something does happen, we'll be fine." He assured and Alumina smiled at him.

"I'm not worried." She replied and he smiled at her, while Juvia frowned slightly at the smile he gave to Alumina.

* * *

Alumina walked around the perimeter of the large Mansion she was supposed to be guarding with her arms hooked behind her back. They had arrived her at BelantrassMansion a few hours ago, and met with the Mistress, who explained why she had wanted Wizards for security in the first place.

The Mistress was in position of a very rare, and very valuable necklace that she would be showing off tonight at her ball. It had been targeted by several over the years, and she was worried someone may try to take it tonight.

It was reasonable Alumina supposed, there were plenty of people who would do anything to get there hands on something as valuable as that necklace.

The mansion was large and ornately decorated with gardens and hedgerows all around it. She had come across a stream near the back as she kept watch, all in all it was a regular old mansion. Because of its size the three Fairy Tail wizards had decided to split up, and now here she was, walking over cleanly cut grass past one of the large stain-glass windows where light was flooding out as night settled on the land.

She could hear laughing, conversation, music, and the clink of glasses coming from inside. She smiled at the thought of Juvia fantasizing a dance with Gray in the ball room. She walked past the window without a second glance and let out a small sigh.

So far so good, in the two hours she had been patrolling the grounds she hadn't run into anyone or anything. She was beginning to hope that this job would be super easy, where nothing happens. Too bad wishing for things like that isn't always a good idea.

Her head twisted around when she heard something snap, and the hedgerow she was facing started to rustle as something came through. She went into a defensive stance and placed a hand on her keys as her only visible eye narrowed to try to make out what was coming toward her though the darkness.

"Tch... Damn these stupid hedges! There getting in the way!" A voice hissed as a ton of thrashing in the hedges could be heard.

"Shut your mouth Idiot! This is supposed to be a stealth mission remember? Your making way to much noise, trying doing what I'm doing." A second voice answered the first.

"Its easy for you! Your so small already." The first voice countered.

"Not my fault your as big as a damn mountain." The second growled back.

"If this is a Stealth Mission why did you bring me in the first place?" The first asked.

"Gotta have somebody to tear down the doors, don't I?" The second asked.

Alumina grabbed one key from her belt and held it out in front of her, just as the two voices appeared from the hedges. One was very small mousy man with a sharp nose and dark eyes, while the other was a very, very large man with a broad chest and huge arms, slanted eyes and dark hair appeared beside the smaller man.

"Looks like they have Security." The smaller of the two muttered. "Take care of her." he ordered of the larger man, who smiled a stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!" She swiped the key to the side in a line of gold, "Taurus!" The Celestial Spirit appeared before her with his axe in hand.

"Nice to see that hot body again, mooo!" Taurus exclaimed and Alumina sweatdropped.

"Uh, huh..." Alumina muttered. "Anyway, would you take care of the big guy for me? I'll take the smaller one." Alumina asked.

"Sure thing, moo!"

Alumina turned her attention to the smaller of the two men, while Taurus began to clash with the other man. The man narrowed his dark eyes at her and she held out a hand to the side, a golden Magic Circle appearing there as she pulled a long steel staff from her Magic Storage.

"Lets see how well you do." The man growled as he came at her with a dagger, going so fast Alumina was shocked at first. She jumped away from a slice of the dagger and swung her staff out to catch him in the side and send him stumbling from the force. The man was forced to the ground and Alumina stepped away from a tussle between Taurus and the Larger Man as they rolled past her, locked together.

When Alumina looked for her opponent, she found he was gone from where he had been on the floor and she just barely managed to step out of the way of his dagger a second time as he came at her from her left. All in one swift and precise movement, Alumina spun on her toe and swung her staff out with her.

Her staff hit the smaller man with such force he was blown back into the wall of the Mansion, and fell to the ground unconscious. Her attention went back to Taurus who knocked his opponent away with a heavy blow, defeating the larger of the two men. Alumina placed her staff back in her Magic Storage and smiled at Taurus.

"Great job Taurus!" Alumina told him and he smiled at her. "Thanks for your help!" She told him and he nodded.

"Moo!" His voice faded as she sent him back and placed his key back on her belt. She took some rope out from her Magic Storage and tied the two men up.

"Hey, Alumina!"

Alumina glanced sideways to see Gray running toward her, and she placed her hands on her hips, waiting for him to get closer. "Yeah?" She asked and his eyes widened at the sight of the tied up men.

"You ok? I heard the noise." he asked and she smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Taurus and I took care of these guys." She assured and he smiled a little.

"I can see that," he murmured. "Have you seen Juvia?" He asked and Alumina shook her head.

"No, I haven't. Have you run into anyone yet?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Some Vulcan came out of the forest near here as I was passing it, but other than that, no." He replied and Alumina nodded. She took a step past him and started walking. Those men wouldn't get out of that rope, and she would call the council to come pick them up later.

"Come on, lets go see if Juvia is ok." Alumina called back to him. He caught up to her, and she frowned a little when he started walking to her left, and she moved around so he was on her right. "I've been meaning to ask,"

"What?" Gray murmured.

"Are you and Juvia dating?" Alumina asked and blinked when he blushed furiously at the question,

"N-no!" He stammered and she smirked.

"I only ask because I can tell she really likes you." Alumina told him and gave him a teasing smirk. "I think you like her too." She teased and he looked away, his blush deepening.

"How can you tell?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I'm just good at seeing things like this." Alumina replied. " I think you guys should go out, you'd make a cute couple." She smiled and he sighed.

"Maybe..." He mumbled. Alumina looked ahead as Juvia came into view, and the bluenette dashed toward them as soon as she saw Gray.

"Gray!" Juvia exclaimed. "Has Gray missed Juvia?" Juvia asked and Gray blushed faintly, while Alumina just smiled at the scene.

_They would make a great couple._

* * *

**Enjoy and sorry I'm not posting chapter more often, review, fav and follow if you can!**


	7. Chapter 7- Old KeyHolders

**Chapter 7**

**Old KeyHolder's**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

"Open: Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

In a flash of gold Loke appeared before Alumina as she stood in the middle of the train station of Kilian City. She had gotten back from her job with Juvia and Gray two days ago, and this time she had decided to take a job on her own.

Natsu hadn't been around when she got back, and she felt a little bad to have been relieved he wasn't there. She would prefer he just he friends with her, instead of hating her like he seemed to.

No, not seemed to. She _knew_ he hated her, and she sort of understood why.

The Fire Dragon Slayer's heart must be broken, from what she understood from the others in the Guild, it seemed like Natsu might have actually loved Lucy. And she didn't mean the love everyone in the Guild had for their lost Celestial Mage, she was talking about a very different kind of love, something that may go deeper then the bonds of a family.

"How may your loyal Lion serve you today?" Loke asked with a smirk on his face as he bowed to her and placed a kiss on her hand. Alumina rolled her eyes a little at his play-boy antics and drew her hand away from him.

"I'm going on a job to take down a ground bandits down here." She explained as he got to his feet and adjusted his glasses. "I'm heading to find them now, but I wanted to talk to you on the way there." She explained.

"Ask away my princess." He told her smoothly with a smile across his face. Alumina stepped past him with a smile sigh, and he turned to follow her down the long and winding road toward the place where the bandits usually jumped people in their travels.

"First thing, is there a reason you and Ursa.." She trailed away as he literally flinched the name, but continued anyway. "Don't seem to get along? I didn't even know you guys knew each other." Alumina asked him and he sweatdropped, putting on a nervous smile as he tried to remain semi-calm.

"Did Ursa ever... Ever tell you who her last KeyHolder was?" Loke asked her slowly and Alumina blinked a few times. She slowly shook her head and he let out a long sigh, "Ursa and I belonged to the same KeyHolder before I was passed on to Lucy, and she was passed on to you." He murmured and Alumina blinked in surprise.

She was surprised to hear of this, Ursa had never mentioned it, but then again she had never asked.

"But Ursa was taken from my old KeyHolder before she died, I don't know if she was immediately given to you, or if she went through someone else first." He put in, "We are pretty familiar with each other, and our KeyHolder wasn't... Wasn't the best. When we were with my Old KeyHolder, Ursa and I, we started getting agitated with one another, to the point where we can't stand each other anymore." He told her.

"It looked a little more like fear than hatred, on your part." Alumina told him and he sighed.

"You ever seen how damn scary Ursa can get? She could beat me to a pulp if she wanted to!" He replied and Alumina in amusement chuckled at his panicked tone. _Beat you to a pulp? Aren't you supposed to be the leader of the Zodiac or something?_

"Relax Loke, I know what you mean. I only ask that you guys try to get along as long as I am your KeyHolder." Alumina told him with a smile and he sighed. She liked to pair her Spirits up in battle based on their strengths and weaknesses, she was hoping Loke and Ursa would make a good team in battle, but that would only work as long as they worked together.

"I'll try, but she is so damn stubborn..." He muttered and Alumina chuckled a little. She would have to get Ursa's side of the story later, but right now she decided it be better not to press the subject anymore with Loke. They fell into silence as Alumina walked down the road, as trees started to close in around them, the train station left far behind them.

She was aware that Loke was casting glances back and forth at her as she continued walking, and she knew why. She was biting her lip in frustration, eyes narrowed. She didn't know how to ask her next question without sounding... well, rude, or mean about it.

"Was there something else you wanted to ask me?" Loke said, trying to get her to say what was on her mind. For a moment Alumina stayed silent before she let out a long sigh.

"Was Natsu... always like he is now?" She asked him quietly. "Tell me he wasn't always so... so..." She trailed off, not being able to find the right words without possibly making Loke a little angry by insulting one of his friends.

"So what?" Loke asked as he blinked in confusion.

_Of course..._ He had no idea how Natsu was acting, he hadn't seen the Salamander in such a long time, and only that brief instance when she had arrived at the Guild. He wouldn't know how Natsu was acting, wouldn't know what she meant, that meant she had to say it.

But finding a less hateful way to say it would be wiser.

"Always such a _jerk_." She put it lightly and was aware of Loke stiffening next to her.

"What did he do?" Loke asked her quietly after a pause and Alumina didn't glance his way.

"Not a lot... other than his sort of coldness toward me, and everyone who talks to me." Alumina told him and rubbed the back of her neck. "And he... sort of said a few things... hateful things." She told him in a small and nervous voice.

"Tch... that idiot..." Loke muttered under his breath, so low she almost didn't catch it. "However Natsu is now, its probably nowhere close to how he used to be." Loke explained and Alumina glanced back at him, but his eyes were fixed on the path ahead. "Natsu used to be the liveliest person in the Guild, always wanting to brawl with people, always smiling, never ever seeming to be bothered by things. He was always positive, one of the best Mages in the Guild." Loke adjusted his glasses and his eyes closed for a minute. "He was the one that got Lucy to join the Guild, one of her best friends, always there for her. Natsu hardly ever let anything bad happen to Luce if he could help it, and he was always personally hurt when something happened to her. Though I doubt he'll ever say anything, he fell in love with Lucy."

Alumina looked away, looking down at the ground in front of her. She had been right, Natsu _had_ liked Lucy more than a friend...

"I can only imagine how Lucy's death affected him, he did seem off when I went with you to the Guild on the first day..." Loke trailed away as he thought about it and Alumina looked back at the path ahead.

Her mind flashed back to Natsu's face that first day she had met him, right after Loke had mentioned Lucy's death. That look that had appeared in Natsu's eyes, that look of horror... she didn't like it, and she wasn't sure what kind of memory would cause him that kind of horror.

She wasn't sure she _wanted_ to know either.

"Hold on." Alumina murmured calmly as she came to a stop and Loke came to a slow stop soon after. Her eyes were closed, head tilted slightly as she listened in around her, the trees swished in the slight breeze, small creatures ran through the brush, birds flapped over head. _She was sure she heard it..._

**Loke POV**

Loke watched her silently, head tilted in confusion at what she was doing, he could tell she was concentrating on something though he wasn't sure what. Then he remembered, his thoughts had been so immersed in the conversation he forgot what she had said she was out here for in the first place. She was on a job to defeat some bandits in the area.

_Is that what she's looking for?_

Alumina's visible eye opened as she fixed on one point in the trees, face neutral. "Here they come." she told him as she pulled a staff from her Magic Storage.

All in an instant about a dozen men jumped from the trees, eyes hard and smirks on their faces. Loke blinked in surprise, _how had Alumina heard them coming, when even he hadn't heard any of them?_

**Alumina POV**

Alumina swung her staff out to send one of the men crashing to the ground as hejumped toward her, she could tell they weren't that powerful, and now she really wasn't in the mood to spend to much time taking them down.

Loke jumped into action beside her as more of the bandits approached, looking furious their marks had decided to fight back before they robbed them.

Her mind was on something else though, what Loke had told her, what Mavis had told her, and the limited information she had gotten from others at the Guild since she joined. She swung out harder with her staff as her eyes narrowed in determination.

She was _going_ to change Natsu's attitude, she was _going_ to make Fairy Tail the lively Guild it once was.

She wouldn't give up until she had done that.

* * *

**Enjoy this chapter and sorry its late getting posted, if you happen to be reading along with my other ongoing story "Energy Magic", then you'll know that I already explained that I may not be able to post as fast as I would like, you should probably expect this week to be a bit slow, and on Thursday I go on vacation and wont have internet access for some time. Bear with me if you would and thanks for reading, it means a lot!**


	8. Chapter 8- Loke's Savior

**Chapter 8**

**Loke's Savior**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

Alumina let out a long sigh as she sat cross-legged on her bed, twirling Ursa's key over and over in her hand as she stared at the floor. She had gotten back from the mission to defeat the bandits with Loke earlier that morning, but she was becoming more and more curious as to what the Lion Spirit had told her.

_Loke and Ursa belonged to the same KeyHolder not to long ago? How come she never mentioned it? Especially after I contracted Loke...?_

She stopped twirling the key as she grasped it in her hand and rubbed her eyes a little, before positioning her hair to cover her left eye completely like always. She needed to get Ursa's side of the story, but because the Bear Spirit had never mentioned it before, she was getting the feeling Ursa might not want to talk about it.

Alumina set the key down on the bed next to her and grabbed a different key from her belt instead, holding it before her. "Open; Gate of the Southern Cross!" Her hand swiped to the side in front of her, leaving a line of gold in the air. "Crux!"

Crux appeared before her, looking asleep like he always did and she put his key back on her belt before sighing. "I was wondering if you could tell me about the KeyHolder Loke was contracted to before Lucy." She told Crux, who opened one eye to peer at her, before it closed and he fell silent as he began to think.

Alumina waited patiently for him to stop searching with her hands folded in her lap and gaze fixed on the spirit, she decided she ought to get a little background information before she decided to speak with Ursa, this way she might have a better chance at understanding this way.

"Leo was contracted to Karen Lilica before coming into the possession of Lucy Heartfilia. Aries and Ursa were also contracted to Karen along with Leo. Due to circumstances including the abuse of her spirits, Leo stood up to Karen, coming through his gate on his own and preventing Karen from summoning anymore spirits while he was here. Ursa was lost to a different KeyHolder a little before Leo's actions " Alumina's eyes widened at the information. "Leo's act ultimately lead to Karen Lilica's death, where Aires was taken from her by another Celestial Wizard, Leo was charged with the crime of breaking one of the Celestial Laws, and was cut off from re-entering the spirit world ever again, as a result."

Alumina stared in shock at the information, _Loke he... he killed one of his KeyHolders...?_

"Then... How did he become Contracted to Lucy if he was forbidden from re-entering the Spirit World?" Alumina asked him and Crux fell silent before giving her an answer.

"Leo sustained himself for three years in the Human World using his own Magic. Lucy found him just before he disappeared entirely, trying to force his gate to open back up and allow Leo entrance back into the spirit world. Her efforts caught the attention of the Celestial Spirit King, and she convinced him to reconsider his judgment. Leo was allowed entrance back into the Spirit World, Lucy ultimately saving his life." Crux answered and Alumina fell silent at the words. For a long while she just stared down at the floor as she tried to process what Crux had just told her.

_Could Loke really have killed his KeyHolder? Was he that Cold-hearted? And how the hell did he survive in this world for three years!?_

She didn't want to believe that, Crux had said something about abuse, so maybe Loke had a reason... but that couldn't make it ok to kill someone, could it?

She wanted the full story, to know all the details, but she had a feeling Crux wouldn't tell her anymore than he already had on the topic. So how could she know all of it? She could ask Ursa... No, that wasn't a good idea, and she highly doubted either Aries or Loke would want to talk about, it might be too painful for them for her to even ask about it.

She had one choice, she would have to see what happened on her own.

"Crux, tell me where..."

* * *

Alumina stood in front of a grave set in the edge of a small cliff that stuck out over the top of a deep pool, waterfalls were falling all around her and the sky was dark as night settled down. She stared down calmly at the stone marker, arms hooked behind her back. The Blue Pegasus Guild Symbol was carved into the top in gold with a name carved below it. The top of the headstone was surrounded in a circle with a bell attacked to it, cracking from age and covered in dust.

'Karen Lilica'

This was the Grave of one of Loke, Aires, and Ursa's old KeyHolders. She couldn't forget what Crux had told her, that Loke was the reason Karen had died, that Aries was given to a Dark Mage...

_Oh Loke... I really want to believe that you were doing all of it for a good reason... you cant be a bad person, can you?_

Alumina frowned a little at the thought, she wanted to believe in Loke, she really did. But she needed proof first, she needed to know exactly what happened, she needed to _see_ it.

Alumina took a step forward and reached her hand toward the grave-stone, stopping herself right before touching it and narrowing her eyes. She mentioned it before, she was able to see memories and past events that were connected to certain objects, get a glimpse of the past. That why she was here, she needed to see what happened that night, needed to know Loke wasn't evil, needed to know he had his reasons.

Alumina closed her eyes as she let her hand rest on the cold smooth stone, letting the memories connected with the grave flow through her...

* * *

_"Open! Gate of The LION! SEND LOKE BACK!" The yelling reached Alumina's ears as she opened her eyes to see herself standing by the grave, it looking cleaner and less cracked, before her, Loke was collapsed on the ground with a blonde girl hanging on to his neck as her magic blazed up around the already fading Loke. Alumina realized that this must be Lucy, from having heard descriptions from the Guild, and the occasional picture she had seen in Reedus' Notebook._

_Lucy was starting to fade and waver as she tried to send Loke back through his gate, Loke shook her shoulders as she held on to him. "Lucy stop! Your starting to assimilate with me!" He yelled at her._

_"No! I wont let this happen! How am I supposed to just watch one of my friends disappear before my eyes!?" She argued._

_"Stop it! Cant you understand?! I just want to disappear and finally be free of this Guilt!" Loke yelled. Lucy glared at him defiantly at him, Alumina stared in surprise, she hadn't ever expected Loke to want to die._

_"Its not your fault, its Karen's own fault for taking a job she couldn't handle. YOU DIDNT KILL HER!" Lucy snapped back at him as her magic blazed ever brighter. "WHOEVER DECIDED IT WAS YOUR FAULT NEEDS TO KNOW THEY WERE WRONG!"_

_All time seemed to stop as Loke's glasses fell off and they grew still, propped up in the air. The water from the waterfall suddenly started flowing up as the stars blazed and swirled overhead. Right before them a huge spirit appeared, and Alumina glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening at his massive size._

_"No way... He didn't just show up because Lucy spouted something about him being wrong, did he?" Loke muttered and Alumina tilted her head a little, not taking her eyes off of the giant spirit. "The Celestial Spirit King..." Loke breathed and Lucy stood up to face the King, glaring defiantly up at him._

_"Old Friend, as you know you violated the rules and caused your KeyHolder's death. For this you have been forbidden from entering the Spirit World ever again." The king told them, his voice echoing around. "This judgment cannot be reversed."_

_"That's not fair! Loke was just trying to protect Aries! Karen's death wasn't his fault!" Lucy argued. "Karen was abusing her spirits and it needed to stop, she only died because she was too weak to summon another spirit while Loke was here! She took a job she couldn't handle and paid for it, Loke had nothing to do with it!"_

_"Human girl, whether by his hand, or someone else's, Loke is still responsible for his KeyHolder's death." The spirit king told her._

_"That's stupid! He didn't do it, he had to protect Aries somehow!" Lucy snapped back. "You need to change your mind!"_

_"Although I find it sad to see my Old Friend like this, the law is the law. Leo's actions speak for him." The King answered._

_"How can you call him 'Old Friend' if you wont even give him a second chance?!" Lucy yelled as her Magic blazed up again._

_"Give it up Lucy!" Loke told her, and Lucy's magic only grew stronger at his words. Alumina took a step back as her eyes widened in utter shock, before her all of Lucy's spirits appeared behind the blonde in a dazzling light, as Lucy turned to face Loke._

_"NO! Your not responsible for Karen's death Loke! We all know that, all of us!" Lucy shouted at him as she waved an arm at all the spirits who had appeared behind her. "You shouldn't have to suffer anymore because of some stupid rule that you didn't even break!"_

_Alumina took a step back as her back hit the grave and she stared at the scene before her, Lucy summoned all of them at once... Alumina probably wouldn't even be able to do that!_

_Loke was staring in shock at the scene too, he didn't look as if he thought it was possible._

_All of Lucy's spirits disappeared as she collapsed and Loke rushed forward toward her, "Lucy!"_

_"See...? We all know its not your fault, all of my friends that came forward just now, they all know it..." Lucy hissed as she struggled to sit up and failed, Loke catching her before she hit the ground again._

_"Quit it! Your going to end up like Karen if you keep going like this!" Loke told her harshly, but Alumina could see the worry in his eyes as he held on to the weakened blonde._

_"Old friend, Human Girl." The Spirit King rumbled and they looked up as Alumina glanced over her shoulder. "Your actions have made me think that it is not Leo's actions that need to be looked at, but the law itself. Leo was only trying to protect Aries, his brethren. With this in mind I have decided to allow Leo entrance back into the Spirit World." The Spirit king told the and Alumina blinked._

_'Lucy actually convinced the Celestial Spirit King...'_

_"Thanks, StashFace." Lucy grinned at him and the Celestial Spirit King smiled back at her as he began to fade away._

_"Wait! I have to make this up to her somehow!" Loke yelled._

_"Then I order you to go into service for your Human friend here, protect her with your life." The Spirit King rumbled, fully disappearing._

_Alumina flinched at Loke's tears as the water from the waterfalls fell down and his glasses hit the ground all the way, as the stars went back into place._

_"You heard him." Lucy grinned as she got up and held a hand out for Loke, smiling widely. Loke took her hand and got to his feet as he smiled at her and wiped away his tears._

_"Thanks Lucy, I owe you my life." He told her, still holding hands. "I always be there for you whenever you need it." He promised, smile spreading across his face._

* * *

Alumina blinked her eyes open and swayed on her feet out of sudden light-headedness as she quickly sat down and held a hand to her forehead as she waited for her head to stop spinning. Watching the past for as long as she just did, took quite a bit out of her.

She had purposely left her keys at home, knowing that if most of her Magic Power was suddenly drained that her Spirits would take notice, and she hadn't wanted to risk Loke coming through his gate on his own to see what was wrong, and finding her here of all places.

But she felt a lot better knowing what had happened, knowing Loke hadn't been directly responsible for Karen's death. He had felt Guilty about it, to the point where he had wanted to die in order to be rid of his Guilt.

She also felt respect for Lucy swell up inside of her, she must have been an amazing Mage, and her dedication to Loke and the rest of her Spirits was admirable. Alumina smiled sadly,

_I wish I could have met you Lucy... and I wish you hadn't died... everyone misses you..._

* * *

**Sorry this is so late getting posted but enjoy it anyway!**


	9. Chapter 9- Rift Mended?

**Chapter 9**

**Rift Mended?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

"So, would you like to tell me why you never mentioned that you were contracted to the same KeyHolder as Loke before?" Alumina asked the Bear Spirit that stood before her calmly. She was back in her apartment in Magnolia, having waited until the day after she saw Karen's grave to try and speak with Ursa about what happened. The morning light was filtering in through her window as it hit her bed and lit up the room.

Ursa just gave her a flat stare back, before looking away, her ears flattening against her head. "It never came up." She mumbled and Alumina sighed at the answer.

"Bad answer." Alumina told her. "I would understand before, but you should have at least mentioned it when you found out I contracted Loke." Alumina told her.

Ursa huffed in reply, "I guess so, but it doesn't matter. We may have had the same KeyHolder before now, but it really doesn't make a difference now, does it?" Ursa asked her moodily.

"It does." Alumina told her, "I know who it was, it was Karen Lilica, and I know she abused her Spirits." Ursa flinched a little but Alumina continued anyway. "I know that for whatever reason there's a rift between you and Loke now, and I want to figure out why. I want to know your side of the story, I already asked Loke for his." Alumina explained.

For a long while Ursa didn't answer, but Alumina was patient, she would wait for as long as she needed to, to get an answer out of the Bear Spirit. At last Ursa gave up once she realized she wouldn't get out of this without giving Alumina some sort of answer, and she motioned for Alumina to sit on the bed. Alumina sat on her bed and Ursa bit her lip for a minute, before sighing, still not looking at Alumina.

"Yes, I was contracted to Karen at the same time as Leo and Aries." Ursa started. "And yes, she abused us, but Aries always got the worst of it. We're Spirits, we are forbidden from disobeying our KeyHolder even if our Master isn't decent... Leo and I used to be friends, great friends actually, right when we were first contracted to Karen we got along really well, never argued..." Ursa trailed away as she frowned at the floor, teeth clamped down onto one of her nails. "But once Karen's abuse started getting out of hand, our friendship fell apart. We were both fed up with Karen's treatment of us, we both wanted it to stop. If you could have seen what she did to Aries half the time..."

Ursa's eyes narrowed as the yellow orbs lit up with cold hatred, and her fists clenched at her sides.

"I wanted nothing more than to beat some sense into that woman, to show her what it felt like to be abused. I'm sure Leo felt the same way, but we didn't so much care about ourselves, we could handle her abuse, but Aries couldn't. If anything, Karen needed to stop abusing Aries, it didn't matter if she quit abusing us." Ursa turned around so her back was facing Alumina. "Hearing this now, I bet you can't see where that rift between Leo and I started. We both wanted the same thing, after all..."

Ursa fell into silence and Alumina tilted her head a little.

"The problem was we couldn't do anything, nothing, not unless we wanted to break the law. I couldn't think of anything, and at one point I just told him to drop it, that there was nothing to do until we got a new KeyHolder. I think that's what pissed him off, and it pissed me off that he decided to try and fix things by force. That's when we fell apart, I didn't think what he was doing was right, but at the same time I did I suppose... I know he made sure Karen couldn't call either me or Aries once he started his plan. He came through his gate on his own and that caused our gates to be shut off because Karen wasn't strong enough to open two Gate's at once."

"He was such an idiot, Zodiac Leader or not staying in the Human World that long is dangerous, damn it!" Ursa growled. "What he did, it was rash, foolish, arrogant. He paid for it, not only with Karen's life, but three long years of suffering and slowly dying. Thing is, Karen sold me off before she died when she was unable to work for money. I wish she hadn't, I wanted to make Leo stop what he was doing, but before I knew it, I had a different KeyHolder, and Karen was dead. Leo was exiled from the Spirit World, and the very thing he was doing it for, to try and protect Aries, his efforts failed, when she was taken into the hands of a Dark Wizard who abused her just as much. Only thing is, Leo wasn't there to try and protect Aries after all of it happened, and I wasn't there either..." Ursa began to shake as her fists clenched harder, reliving the memories of what happened.

"I should have been there! I should have been the one to be exiled, not him! I hate myself for all of it, because the problem was he had the courage to do something about Karen's abuse, and I didn't! However much I wanted to stop it, I couldn't work up the damn nerve!" Alumina frowned sadly at her friend, but she stayed silent. "I was to afraid to stand up for what I believed in, but Leo wasn't. He did all of it for Aries, he did it because he cares about his friends! Damn me!" Ursa shouted, her voice had been rising as she continued on.

Alumina was beginning to see the rift between Ursa and Loke, it wasn't just about their different views on how to handle things.

_No, that wasn't it._

From the way Ursa was acting now, the anger, the guilt, the painful memories spilling out... Ursa seemed to hate herself for not being able as brave as Loke had been all those years ago. Ursa hated herself for not being strong like Loke had been, and no matter how much Ursa would deny it, the Bear Spirit still saw Loke as one of her friends, close friends, and she must have hated to see him suffer for so long, only because he was the only one to stand up to Karen.

"I should have... I should have helped him... shared the punishment..." Ursa whispered as her voice dropped and Alumina frowned a little.

This rift between Ursa and Loke needed to be mended, it would help both of them move on. Alumina stood up and stepped away from her bed as she quickly got in front of Ursa, flinching at seeing the tears streaming from the usually joyful spirit, and quickly wrapping her arms around her, pulling Ursa into a hug.

"I get it Ursa," Alumina murmured, "But you cant keep beating yourself up for this, think about it, even if you had stood up to Karen with Loke, and she still died, what would have happened had you shared the same punishment as him?" Alumina asked her and she felt Ursa stiffen in her grasp. "You know what, you wouldn't have been able to stay in the Human World for very long, and I wouldn't have ever met you, or become your friend." Alumina told her quietly as she gently pulled away, hands placed gently on the silently crying Spirit's shoulders. "You and Loke could go back to being the friends you once were, all you have to do is move on and stop hanging around in the past. You cant change what happened, but you can fix this now."

Alumina gave Ursa a small reassuring smile as the Spirit's tears started to slow down, "Take some time to think about it Ursa, its not easy to stand up to someone like your KeyHolder, not everyone can do it. But I'm sure the next time you need courage, you'll find you have more than you need inside of you, in your heart." Alumina grinned widely as Ursa smiled a little, "Your one of the bravest people I know!" She chuckled.

"Thanks Lumie." Ursa smiled as she began to fade. "But you know, your way braver than I am."

Alumina blinked in surprise at the last words, but Ursa was already gone and she smiled a little. Ursa would be ok in time, and she was hoping to get to see the shattered friendship between Loke and Ursa be repaired soon. Her thoughts flashed back to a conversation she had, had with Aries earlier this morning.

She had called the shy Spirit out to see if she would talk about what happened with Loke and Ursa, at the time she hadn't been expecting any good answers. Aries was a shy and fragile Spirit, usually she wouldn't make someone like that re-live painful memories, but she wanted Aries side of the story as well as Ursa and Loke's.

But surprisingly, Aries was very open about it, and even though she seemed a little reluctant to explain what had happened, she had told her everything she needed to know. Yes, Karen abused her the most, and yes, Ursa and Loke stopped talking to each other after a major fight back in the Spirit World that Aries had overheard. The one thing that surprised her was something that Aires had asked her to do, and it made Alumina smile at the thought.

_"Please help Ursa and Leo become Friends again, I hate seeing them so cold toward each other, especially after them being such good friends before. Its because I was one the one to be abused the most and wouldn't do anything to stand up for myself... its because of that, that they fought in the first place! Sorry~"_

Aries shouldn't think it was her fault, but it made Alumina happy to see that Aries cared just as much about Loke and Ursa's happiness as they had for her in the first place.

_If everyone in the world got along, there would be no need for fighting, and no one would ever have to suffer so badly anymore..._

* * *

"How may I serve you, Prin-"

Alumina placed a hand over his mouth and shook her head at him, the Lion Spirit blinked in surprise at the action. Alumina pulled her hand away from his mouth.

"Not today Loke." Alumina told him, flicking her head toward he window where he could see night settling down on the land. "Its late, I just wanted to tell you something. Come here," She pulled on his wrist and pushed him down to sit on her bed.

Loke looked up at her expectantly, wondering what it was she had to say. Alumina stood in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest,

"Ursa and Aries told me what happened with Karen." She started and he flinched at the woman's name. "I know you were banished from the Spirit World for three years before Lucy convinced the Spirit King to let you back in, she saved your life." Alumina told him. "I also know exactly why you and Ursa don't get along."

Loke frowned at her a little, "Why are you so interested?" He asked her in a low tone.

"I'm your KeyHolder, I think I deserve the right to know if one of my Spirits killed his KeyHolder in the past." Alumina replied. "Besides, Ursa is my friend, and I was hoping you were my friend too. I hate seeing both of you so torn up about Karen, and fighting each other, especially when you two don't even know why your fighting anymore."

"Who says we don't know why we're fighting? If you talked to Ursa you'll know exactly why we're fighting." Loke huffed at her.

"See the thing is Loke," Alumina told him, ignoring his comment. "You really aren't fighting because you disagreed with each other." Alumina leaned down to plant her face inches from his. "Your fighting because you don't understand. Ursa isn't mad that you disagreed with her, on the contrary, she hates herself for not being able to stand up to Karen, like you did."

Loke's eyes widened at her words and she straightened up,

"You two used to be really good friends right? Ursa still sees you as a good friend Loke, she hates herself for not being able to stand up with you. She hates the fact that you suffered for three years in the Human World. She hates the fact that you were the only one to get punished." Alumina closed her eyes for a minute. "She wishes she had been the one to get punished instead of you, she wanted to help you stand up to Karen, she really did. But in the end she couldn't find the courage to do it, and then Karen traded her away." Alumina opened her eyes to look at him.

Loke was frozen, eyes wider than she had ever seen them with his jaw dropped.

"She blames herself, she has all these years. It because of her hatred for herself, that she's fighting with you still. She doesn't know what to do." Alumina sighed. "You don't hate her, you still see Ursa as a friend, I can see it in your eyes. You don't want to fight with her anymore, and she doesn't want to fight with you either."

Alumina leaned forward and placed a finger under his chin as she made him close his mouth again,

"I don't want to see you two like this anymore, Aries doesn't either. I think its time you two made up." She drew her hand away from him and smiled a little.

"Now that you know, I hope things between you and Ursa will get better."

* * *

**Enjoy! Review, follow, favorite if you can! I love to hear your guy's thoughts on the story so far :)**


	10. Chapter 10- S-Class Partner

**Chapter 10**

**S-Class Partner**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

Alumina smiled to herself as she walked toward the Guild the next morning, Loke's reaction last night had not been unexpected she supposed. He was shocked to the say the least, but she could tell he was happier knowing why Ursa was so mad. Alumina promised herself not to call either Loke or Ursa out for awhile so they would have time to work everything out in the Spirit World.

She was happy, hoping that Ursa and Loke would become friends again. That happiness was turning into energy, she wanted to take a job and get some of her energy out. She could take a job by herself, but what's the fun in that?

No, she would need to find someone else to join her for a job. It couldn't be Juvia or Gray, they had left to go on a week-long job yesterday. She smiled more at the thought, hoping the time the two would spend together would bring them closer.

But now she had to decide who to ask to join her, would anyone other than Gray or Juvia even agree to come on a job with her? Most of Fairy Tail were warming up to her with the exception of Natsu and maybe Gajeel, though she couldn't be sure about the Iron Dragon, he just seemed silent and moody all the time.

The Guild doors came into sight and she perked up, over the week and a half she had been part of the Guild she had noticed that more people were beginning to lighten and up and talk with each other more and more everyday. It put her mind at ease to see them starting to enjoy life a little more now, and more of them were going on jobs more often too.

She reached out to push the doors open as she got near, and the heavy wooden doors swung open slowly to reveal a packed guild with quietly conversing people sitting at tables and drinking. "Hey Guys!" She called out into the Guild, a few people looked her way and smiled, while a few others said 'hi' back. Alumina stepped inside, while everyone went back to their own conversations.

Her gaze swept over who was in the Hall, and she spotted Erza sitting at a table by herself as she munched on a piece of strawberry cake slowly. Alumina immediately made her way toward the red-head and sat down across from her, giving Erza a warm smile.

"Hey Erza, how have you been doing?" Alumina asked. Erza gave her a small smile as she paused in her eating and set her fork down.

"I've been alright, what about you?" Erza asked.

"I'm great!" Alumina answered cheerily.

"That's good to hear, are you planning on taking a job?" Erza asked and Alumina nodded.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Alumina replied and Erza blinked at her. "Would you like to come on a job with me Erza? You don't have to, but I always find jobs more fun when you have someone to come with you." Alumina told her.

Erza paused for a moment as she thought about her answer, the cake completely forgotten for the moment. Alumina sat silently, still smiling and patiently waiting for Erza's answer. At last Erza smiled a shrugged,

"Sure, what harm could it do?" She answered and Alumina smiled wider.

"Alright!" Alumina exclaimed. "Thank you for agreeing, I'm sure this will be fun!" She grinned at the red-head, who smiled a little more at her enthusiasm. Alumina leaned forward a little, "By the way, he's sort of been staring at you for while now." Alumina told her as she flicked her head toward a man with a mask and hat on, where you could see some of his hair was blue, leaning against a pillar on the second floor.

Erza cast a glance his way and sweatdropped, "I... didn't even notice..." The red-head mumbled as she let out a heavy sigh and Alumina tilted her head.

"Who is he?" She asked and Erza paused.

"Mystogan." She replied, and Alumina blinked when she didn't hear true honesty in the answer, but she decided not to press it.

"Hmm, anyway." Alumina dropped the subject and she didn't miss the silent sigh of relief that Erza let out. "How about I wait for you to finish that piece of cake then we can go pick out a job, sound good?"

Erza smiled and nodded, picking up her fork again.

"Sounds good."

**Happy POV**

Happy glanced Erza's way as he heard the red-head agree to go on a mission with Alumina. He had been listening in with Natsu who sat at the table, and now he was very aware of his partner seething with rage at the fact that Erza had even said yes. Happy himself didn't mind Alumina, in fact he though she was nice and a kind-hearted person.

Natsu's opinion was different.

He wasn't exactly sure why, but Natsu seemed to hate Alumina, but why should he? Alumina had never down anything to him, in fact she had tried to get along with him a few times, but Natsu just didn't seem interested in being nice to her.

Happy pretended not to have heard the argument Natsu had, had with Gray just after the Ice Mage accepted to go on a mission with Alumina. Whenever he tried to get an answer out of Natsu on the reason for his dislike of Alumina, Natsu always looked at him as if he was dense, and just got madder.

Eventually he had given up asking Natsu, but that didn't stop him from wondering.

_Why?_

Happy was snapped from his thoughts as Natsu suddenly got up, knocking his chair over in the process and bumping the table, causing it to move a little. Looking up he saw that Natsu's face was dark as his bangs shadowed his eyes, and he quickly walked out of the Guild without a word. Happy got to his feet and walked to the edge of the table, eyes wide in surprise.

A few people had glanced over when they heard Natsu's chair fall, and a few frowned sadly when he left. Happy quickly sprouted wings as he took off after his partner.

_Natsu..._

* * *

**Alumina POV**

"So much stuff..." Alumina murmured as she stared wide-eyed at the excessive amount of stuff Erza was bringing with her for their mission. It towered over her as it sat atop a cart which she noticed Erza pulled along with no trouble despite it probably weighing a ton.

_How the hell does she expect to get that on the train?!_

"You think you packed enough, Erza?" Alumina asked as the red-head came to halt in front of her. Many people in the station were looking Erza's way as if she was crazy, and Alumina didn't blame them for feeling that way.

"I believe so." Erza replied with a straight face, "Are you ready?" She asked and Alumina nodded.

"Yep, I'm really looking forward to this, and thanks again for agreeing to come with me!" Alumina smiled warmly at Erza, who smiled back.

"Its my pleasure." Erza replied.

"Erza! Alumina!" They both glanced over to see Happy flying toward them, and Alumina blinked in surprise at his sudden appearance. Happy came to a halt before them and took a minute to catch his breath.

"Something wrong, Happy?" Erza asked.

Happy shook his head at her, "Um, no..." He trailed off and Alumina tilted her head slightly at the flustered look on his face. "But... uh- Natsu said he would be gone for a few days... and I'm all by myself now..." Happy mumbled as he looked at the ground. "W-Would it be ok... if I joined you g-guys..?" He stammered out in a nervous voice and Alumina smiled a little sadly at him.

Without warning she leaned forward and snatched Happy out of the air to give him a small squeeze, "Of course!" She smiled at him. "You don't mind, do you Erza?" Alumina asked and Erza shook her head, though Alumina could tell her mind was on something else.

"It's alright with me." Erza told her. Happy smiled a little as he was put at ease by their answers and Alumina rubbed her chin on the top of his head, still grinning.

She was curious as to why Natsu would have left Happy all by himself, but he did seem a little_... uh.._ agitated, when he stalked out of the Guild Hall earlier that day. She was a little worried of what Natsu might do when he found out Happy went on the mission with her and Erza. Natsu wasn't a fan of Alumina, that was for sure, but she was a little annoyed at him for even considering leaving Happy all by himself for a few days.

She also didn't like the fact that Happy seemed so nervous about even asking to join, she would much rather he feel relaxed around her.

She pushed it all to the back of her mind as she followed Erza on the train with Happy still in her arms, after watching Erza somehow find room for all of her stuff on the train. Erza sat across from her as they started up friendly conversation, Alumina feeling excitement rise up inside of her for the coming mission.

* * *

"Lets head out this way and stick close to each other, they might try to ambush us on the way." Erza said in a calm and commanding voice.

"You think they know we're coming?" Alumina asked as she stayed at Erza's shoulder, Happy riding on her shoulders with his paws resting on her head.

"I don't know, but its best to be careful." Erza replied, and they fell into silence, alert for anyone or anything as they traveled through the thick undergrowth and trees.

They had chosen a job sent out by the Magic Council to detain and capture a small group of Dark Wizards out this way, with the only information being provided, that they had a base somewhere deep inside this old and dark forest.

Erza didn't seem especially worried that it would be a hard job, and Alumina herself wasn't worried either. She could handle herself pretty well, and Erza was an S-Class, she could probably have finished this job without Alumina's help.

The Forest surrounding them was dark, old, and musty smelling with hardly any animals skittering around in the undergrowth. The large dark colored trees cast deep shadows over the ground, their thick branches letting in no sunlight, the wind not even existent around here. Alumina fidgeted a little as the path grew narrow and Erza switched over to her left in an attempt to not run into anything that had suddenly sprouted in her way.

She fidgeted until the path widened out again, and quickly switched sides with Erza so she was on the red-head's left again. Erza quirked an eyebrow at her and exchanged a glance with Happy.

"Why do you do that?" Erza asked her and Alumina glanced her way.

"Do what?" She asked, though she already knew.

"I noticed around the Guild, whenever someone comes up to stand on your left you always switch sides to make sure they're on your right." Erza told her, gesturing an armored hand toward her. "You just did it again."

"I noticed it too." Happy put in and Alumina sighed.

"It sort of... it just doesn't feel right if someone's on my left." Alumina answered with a small shrug. "Its sort of a quirk, that I have."

"Hmm..." Erza murmured, the red-head had a feeling Alumina wasn't telling her the full story, but she decided to drop the subject and Alumina let out a silent sigh. "How are you liking the Guild so far?" Erza asked as she changed the subject.

"Its great!" Alumina told her brightly. "Everyone's really nice, and I think a lot of them are starting to warm up to me." She replied. "Plus, I'm just really happy that Loke could be back with Fairy Tail again, I can tell he missed all of you guys." She added and Erza nodded.

"It was great seeing him back after so long." Erza told her. "Its not Fairy Tail without all its members..." Erza trailed off and Alumina could feel the red-heads mood deflate, and could guess that Erza was thinking about a certain blonde mage.

"Hey Alumina," Happy asked and Alumina took her attention off of Erza.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know Natsu was a Dragon Slayer when you came to the Guild for the first time?" Happy asked and Alumina blinked.

"That's right, you seemed to know he was a Dragon Slayer when you suggested he might have caught your scent, had you been around Lucy when she died." Erza put in, wearing a neutral expression though she could see the pain and grief light up in her eyes at the thought.

Alumina looked away as she let her mind wander off to that day, _had she really said something like that..?_

_"You would have what? Seen me? Scented me? Followed my scent because your first thought would have been, that I was Lucy's killer?"_

_Huh... that's right, I did say that, didn't I?_

She honestly had no idea how she had known that, she was fairly sure she hadn't ever met Natsu before that, _so how on earth..?_

"I don't actually know," Alumina replied. "I must have just remembered it from seeing the Grand Magic Games awhile back," She shrugged, but it did bother her a little. She was fairly certain that wasn't how she had known about it, but she couldn't figure out how she could have known information like that.

"Makes sense." Happy said and Erza nodded a little, though Alumina had the feeling Erza didn't quite believe what Alumina had said.

Alumina came to a dead stop as she tilted her head to the left a little, eyes narrowing at the ground in front of her, and alert. Erza stopped soon after, eyeing her curiously.

"Something wrong?" Erza and Happy asked.

Alumina tensed as she heard the faint sound of a twig snapping, and something brushing up against dried bracken fronds, causing them to rustle and crack. The even fainter sound of feet hitting the ground came not long after.

"Someone is coming." Alumina replied. Happy ears perked up as he glanced in the direction Alumina had her head tilted, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Your right." He murmured. "How did you hear that so fast?" Happy asked her.

Alumina shrugged, "I have some pretty good hearing, besides, they're not that far away anyway." Alumina replied. The sound of metal sliding out of a sheath caused both Alumina and Happy to glance Erza's way, the red-head had requiped a sword into her hand, standing at defense.

"Looks like they saved us the trouble of looking for them." Erza smiled. "Get ready you two."

Happy jumped off her shoulders and sprouted wings as Alumina grabbed her staff out of her Magic Storage and grabbed a key from her belt.

"Get Ready."

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**Enjoy! Reviews, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11- Game On

**Chapter 11**

**Game On**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

A group of ten people stepped out of the trees, out of the ten only one was a girl, with the others being men. All of them wore dark clothes, all of them had a strange mark on the back of their hands, that resembled a pine tree on fire. All Fairy Tail mages narrowed their eyes at the newcomers, and one of the smaller men looked up at the woman with a smirk.

"See? Didn't I tell you there were intruders in the forest?" He asked in a hissing voice and the woman didn't even glance at him.

"Yes, yes I suppose you weren't lying." She muttered, her orange eyes sweeping over the Fairy Tail Mages. "Lets see... ah, your Fairy Tail Mages, correct?" The woman asked as she spotted Alumina's Guild Mark on the back of her hand, which was grasped on tightly to her staff.

"Who we are does not matter." Erza stepped forward, sword pointed at the woman, eyes narrowed and expression neutral. "All you must know is that we have been sent to defeat you."

The men started laughing their heads off at the statement, and the woman simply smiled.

"Good Luck with that!"

"What the hell are two pretty ladies and a cat going to do?!"

The Fairy Tail wizards frowned at the reactions, they were being highly underestimated by these guys, and they didn't exactly like it.

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail Wizards."

The laughing stopped abruptly as three of the men were knocked down, one downed by a slash of Erza's sword, one thrown into a tree by a heavy hit from Alumina's staff, and the other knocked down by a head-butt from Happy who had activated Max Speed to hit him in an instant.

The other six narrowed their eyes at the Fairy Tail Mages, their smiles had faded long ago. The two men that Alumina and Erza had thrown away did not get back up, and the one Happy had lay winded on the ground.

Alumina swung the key she had grabbed out in front of her as all the others launched forward. "Open! Gate of the Archer!" A line of gold appeared in the air before her as she swiped the key to the side. "Sagittarius!"

Sagittarius appeared before her and she stepped in front of him as one of the Dark Wizards came forward and swung a sword out at him, knowing Sagittarius wouldn't have time to react. Alumina lifted her staff up and blocked the swipe down from the sword, the metal making a cold clang as it hit the metal of her staff. Alumina kicked the man away, causing him to fall back into another one of his comrades, she glanced back at Sagittarius.

"Shoot!" She ordered.

"Of course my lady!" He replied a he lifted his bow and sent a flurry of arrows the two men's way. The first was knocked out, but the other took the hits full on, getting back to his feet and glaring.

Alumina had to look away as she felt the presence of magic somewhere to the right, and she whipped around to see a large blast of some yellow magic streaming toward her. She bent over to avoid it and placed her hands on the ground as she pushed her self over, performing a back hand-spring to get back to her feet, still clutching on to her staff as she straightened up.

She was now facing one of the men as he glowed with the light of his magic, from what she guessed was a form of Light Magic by the look of it. The man smirked and lifted both hands above him, a golden Magic Circle appearing above his head.

"Rain of Light!" He yelled as he swiped his hands down to point them at her. Alumina stiffened as dozens of streams of Light Magic came toward her at an amazing speed, and she jumped into action.

By a series of twisting and turning she was able to dodge a lot of them, and ward off a few with a swing of her staff. She spun nimbly out of the way of one of the streams of light, and her eyes widened in shock to see another coming straight toward her, too close and too fast to dodge.

But before the spell could hit her, it was destroyed in an instant by an arrow that was expertly shot just passed her head to hit the Light Magic with deadly precision. Alumina looked over her shoulder and smiled warmly at Sagittarius,

"Thanks." She told him and he saluted her.

"You are very welcome, my lady!" He replied. She could see that the man from earlier had been downed just behind the spirit, and she smiled to see they were winning so far.

Glancing over she could see that Erza had taken care of three more, the red-head hadn't even broken a sweat. At the moment she couldn't see Happy in the fighting, but she had to focus on the Light Magic user once again, and Sagittarius came up to stand at her side.

The man clapped his hands together in front of him as his Magic grew stronger, eyes closed as he prepared his next attack. At first Alumina was surprised by the sheer power rising up from him, then she narrowed her eyes and got ready for an attack.

"Light Beam!"

The mans hands shot out in her direction as a huge beam of light shot out toward them. Alumina jumped to the left as Sagittarius jumped to the right.

"Sagittarius! Now!" Alumina called out, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw the Spirit salute to her quickly.

The Light Magic user was down in an instant as Sagittarius let loose a barrage of arrows, and Alumina came to a pause as she caught her breath.

"Thanks for your help!" Alumina smiled brightly at Sagittarius, who nodded at her and disappeared.

The fighting seemed to have come to an end as Alumina looked around to see all the men unconscious, and Erza standing still, sweeping her gaze over all of them.

"Where's Happy?" Alumina asked once she noticed the Blue Exceeds disappearance from the area.

"I don't know... But where is that Woman?" Erza murmured.

"Right here." They both snapped their heads around to see the Woman leaning against a tree with Happy in her grasp, ropes tied around him and a rag tied around his mouth to keep him quiet. Happy was squirming in the woman's grasp, and Alumina flinched when she saw the pain lit up in Happy's eyes as the woman squeezed him tighter, preventing him from wriggling anymore.

"Release Happy at once." Erza demanded in a calm and commanding tone. The woman simply blinked at her and stared.

"No." She answered and Alumina stiffened. "Considering you took down my team, I figure its fair that you play a game with me." The woman told them.

_A Game?_

"The object of my game, is to find me among a maze and defeat me." The woman explained. "When you defeat me, I'll let you have your little cat back, and then you may leave my Maze. But finding me is isn't the only issue with the game, there will be other things within the maze designed to stop you." The woman lifted a hand as dark green magic began to spiral around her. "You'll be split up, good luck and no cheating." The woman growled.

More of the woman's Magic spiraled around Alumina and Erza and they looked down at it in shock. Alumina looked back up at the woman, eyes narrowing and grasp on her staff growing tighter.

"There is no way in hell," Alumina growled as she launched forward, tearing free of the Woman's Magic that had started to take a hold of her momentarily. "I'm letting you keep Happy!" She growled as she swung her staff out at the Dark Mage, who looked surprised that Alumina had come after her. Alumina's other hand reached out and grabbed Happy out of the Woman's grasp when it loosened as she tried to dodge the swing of her staff. The woman looked rather unhappy when she realized that Happy had been taken away from her, and Alumina stiffened when she saw the woman's eyes narrow in utter fury, a sword requiping into her open hand.

The woman quickly parried her staff, sending it back her way with amazing force. Before Alumina had time to react, or bring her staff up to block, the woman swung the sword her way.

_Shit!_

"Alumina!"

Alumina twisted enough so the sword wouldn't hit Happy, who she still had in her arm, and she pushed backward with her feet to try and get out of the way. The Woman's magic had followed her and it was still spiraling up around Alumina as the sword swung out toward her.

Alumina gasped out in pain as the sword slashed across her upper arm, just before the Magic around her spiraled up higher than ever.

Alumina stumbled backward and fell into a sitting position on the ground, suddenly finding herself somewhere she hadn't been before. There was grass under her, and tall dark green hedges all around except for in front of her, she was so surprised to find herself here, she was only dimly aware of the fact that blood had started to drip down her arm.

"Where the hell are we...?" She murmured.

Alumina quickly released her hold on Happy as he started to struggle in her grasp, and he dropped onto the ground, managing to wiggle out of the ropes around him and pulling off the gag. She blinked when she saw that his eyes were wide with small tears at the corners,

"A-Alumina? A-are y-you ok?" He stammered, voice shaky and fearful. His eyes widened even more when he saw the blood dripping down her arm and he rushed over to her, "Your Bleeding!"

Alumina gently brushed her fingers over the wound and stifled a wince. It wasn't particularly deep, but it wasn't shallow either and it stung like hell.

"O-oh no... I'm so s-sorry A-Alumina, its all my f-fault..." Happy stammered as his tears started to spill over and stream down his face, "I-If I H-hadn't gotten c-caught...!" He was shaking with his crying and Alumina smiled sadly at him.

Happy thought it was is fault she got hurt, but he shouldn't think like that.

"Hey, hey..." She murmured and placed a hand on his head, smiling at him. "Relax all right? It's not that bad, besides, I'm just really glad your not hurt." She told him. "All that matters is that your ok, you can stop crying already." She told him.

**Happy POV**

Happy blinked as he sniffed a little, looking up at her to see that smile spread across her face. A warm, sweet and kind smile that reminded him of Lucy in a way.

Happy wiped the tears away and clamed down a little, and nodded to show he understood. He didn't like the fact that she had gotten hurt because he had let himself get caught, but honestly, he was relieved she had gone after him like she had. If she hadn't, he would still be in the grasp of that Dark Mage and he honestly didn't even want to think about what she might have done to him while Erza and Alumina were fighting their way through the Maze.

But now he felt appreciation toward Alumina swell up inside of him. He didn't know her that well, but she had still risked her life to save him before the 'Game' started.

"Thanks for saving me Alumina!" He smiled at her and Alumina smiled back.

**Alumina POV**

"Your very welcome, what are friends for?" She chuckled when he blinked in surprise at the words.

"Friends?" He echoed and she nodded.

"Yep. We are friends, right?" She asked. Happy blinked, before giving her a cheeky grin and raising a paw in the air.

"Aye!"

"Good." Alumina murmured as she looked away and stifled another wince as she moved her wounded arm. Alumina let out a long sigh as she lifted her other arm above her head, where a golden Magic circle appeared as she reached into her Magic Storage. She pulled out a small first aid kit and set it down on the grass beside her as she opened the top and started to dig through it. "You can help me with this though." Alumina told Happy, but she didn't look his way as she pulled out a cloth and some bandages.

"Sure!"

* * *

**Sorry for the late update! Enjoy!**


	12. Chapter 12- Maze

**Chapter 12**

**Maze**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

Alumina got to her feet once Happy was done helping her wrap some bandages around her arm, and she placed the first aid kit back in her Magic Storage. She also picked her staff up from off the ground where she had dropped it, and gently lifted Happy up so he could sit on her head.

Happy looked all around them with wide eyes, while Alumina swept her gaze across the hedges around them, eyes narrowed and ready for danger.

"Is this the Game that lady was talking about?" Happy asked.

"Looks like it, this would take an awful lot of Magic to create though..." Alumina murmured.

Lets face it, that woman has essentially created something that is sure to be confusing and intricate. Who knows what other things are inside of this game of hers? And who the hell knows where she is?

At this point the game is focused on just getting out of here and finding Erza. They no longer had to find Happy and rescue him, but Alumina had to wonder if Erza knew she had gotten Happy back before the Game started.

"Hey Happy," Alumina murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could fly up and try to spot Erza?" Alumina asked and Happy lifted a paw in the air, smiling at her.

"Aye!"

Happy took off and Alumina watched him climb in the air, only to gasp in shock as he was thrown back her way by a flash of light.

"Oof!" Happy coughed out as Alumina caught him in her arms, Alumina looked him over worriedly.

"Are you alright?" She asked and he nodded a little, looking dazed.

"Yeah... Some type of Magic threw me back." Happy told her as he shook his head a little. "I can't fly up too high or I'll just keep getting knocked back." He explained and frowned. "Sorry." He apologized and Alumina shook her head at him.

"Its fine." She told him. "Looks like we'll just have to go through the maze and look for her.." She murmured. Happy nodded as he floated next to her and they started off in the only direction they could go, forward.

Alumina stayed alert as the two of them began to make their way through the maze, always looking out for Erza, or anything inside the Maze with them other than the red-head. They took a few turns when they came to some dead-ends with nowhere else to go, until they stopped upon coming on a fork in the maze after about 20 minutes of traveling through it.

"Right or Left?" Happy asked as he switched his gaze between the two paths and Alumina narrowed her eyes in thought. She kept walking until she stopped, having both the right and left paths on each side of her as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She couldn't hear anything down the other paths, so she had no clue of which one they should take...

"Now I sort of wish I had the hearing of a Dragon Slayer..." Alumina mumbled as she opened her eyes again. "Or even the nose, it would be so much easier to find Erza if I could catch her scent." She sighed at the thought.

"Aye... Its always easy for Natsu to find someone quick with his nose." Happy mumbled and Alumina glanced his way. Happy caught her eye and blinked, before smiling sadly at her. "I'm sorry Natsu is so nasty to you, Alumina." He told her and Alumina shook her head at him, waving the apology off.

"Don't worry about it, some people just don't like certain people. Natsu seems to be that way." Alumina told him and Happy sighed.

"Still, that doesn't mean he has to be so rude to you..." Happy mumbled, so low she almost didn't catch it, but she pretended she hadn't heard for the moment. Alumina tilted her head to the left, then the right.

She turned left and kept walking, she wouldn't usually pick left, but she didn't think right would have been the better choice in this instance, though she wasn't exactly sure why she felt that way. Just a feeling she had.

"So Alumina," Happy perked up.

"Hmm?"

"Where did you live before coming to Magnolia?" Happy asked and Alumina blinked at the question, but she didn't bother to glance up at him as he floated near her head.

"Not anywhere specific really..." Alumina started slowly, resting her staff on her shoulder and shrugging a little. "I've been traveling all over Fiore for years, picking up a few skills, learning my Magic and just messing around." She explained with a quick glance up at him before looking back at the path.

"Did you ever consider joining a Wizards Guild before Mavis asked you to join Fairy Tail?" Happy asked and Alumina sighed.

"Not really." She answered.

"Why not?" Happy pressed and she looked his way.

"Well... I just never really thought about it to be honest." She replied. "Sure maybe I did a little, at one point joining a Guild really did appeal to me." She told him. "But then the appeal just sort of wore off... I guess I had just been traveling on my own for so long I just got used to the feeling of solitude." She murmured. "Ursa has pretty much been my only friend for the longest time."

"If you wanted to join a Guild once," Happy began. "What Guild were you considering joining?" He asked and Alumina looked away, a sheepish smile suddenly appearing across her face.

"Well... at first I was sort of considering joining SaberTooth..." she chuckled nervously, glancing back to see Happy's jaw drop open and he stopped to stare at her with whiteted-out eyes.

"SaberTooth?!" He yelled and she nodded as she came to a pause too.

"Yeah." She told him truthfully.

"But SaberTooth is just full of big meanies!" Happy yelled at her. "They are rude, and horrible, and they hurt people in our Guild like Gray, Natsu, and Lucy!" His voice noticeably cracked when he said Lucy's name and Alumina frowned a little.

"I wanted to join because I feel like they cant be all that bad." Alumina told him. "I know what happened between Fairy Tail and SaberTooth two years ago at the Grand Magic Games." She put in. "I don't think that SaberTooth is a bad Guild at heart, and I will keep on giving them the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong, personally." She explained in a calm voice and Happy's face fell. "Don't think any differently of me though. Even you have to admit that they aren't always bad, I'm sure." She smiled and a little and Happy looked away.

For a minute Happy just stayed silent and Alumina was happy to let him stay that way for awhile. She was fully aware that if she shared her views on SaberTooth around the Guild she would get the same reaction from the others that she had just received from Happy. It was public knowledge that Fairy Tail and SaberTooth weren't friends, in fact they were seen as rivals.

Happy opened his mouth, looking as if he was about to say something, but was suddenly cut off by a very low growl. Alumina whipped around, eyes widening in utter shock to see a huge dark creature springing toward her. It looked like a huge dark grey bear with two razor sharp antlers coming out of its head, it back legs that of a bear, and its front ones the hooves a deer.

Alumina jumped sideways, just barely missing the antlers as they came at her. She stumbled a little and stumbled more when she quickly jumped backward as the creature came toward her again. She barely managed to recover herself before she fell over as she dodged again and sweatdropped. She rolled left to escape the antlers again, and grabbed a key off her belt in an instant.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Alumina yelled as she swiped the key out in front of her, Scorpio appearing in a flash. The spirit smirked and immediately folded his middle and ring fingers back while keeping his index and little fingers extended in his usual manner.

"All right!" Scorpio smirked. Both Alumina and Scorpio jumped back as the beast charged again, Alumina swiped her hand to the side and looked toward Scorpio.

"Now!" She ordered. Scorpio nodded and got down on all fours,

"Sand Buster!"

A huge tornado of spinning sand spiraled out toward the creature, catching it up and battering it around. Alumina crouched down and placed a hand on the ground as she kept herself from being blown around from the sheer force coming from the spell. The creature was blown away over the hedges surrounding them and out of sight. Scorpio and Alumina got to their feet and Alumina cast a smile at him,

"Thanks for the help!" She told him and he nodded.

"No problem!" He answered with a smirk as he gave the hand-sign again, before disappearing back into the Spirit World. Alumina looked around and tilted her head.

"Happy?" She asked, not seeing the Exceed anywhere.

"Right here..." Alumina turned to see him tangled in the hedge behind her, and she blinked. She stepped forward and smiled sheepishly at him,

"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you about Scorpio's attack." She apologized as she gently untangled him from the hedge and he shook his head at her.

"Its ok," He replied and she nodded, setting him on her shoulder. "I'm just glad that big scary monster is gone now." Happy smiled at her.

"Wonder what it was though? I've never seen something like that before." Alumina asked as she started walking forward again, on high alert for anything else that might find them inside the maze.

"Me either." Happy told her.

"Now hopefully we don't run into anymore surprises..." She mumbled.

"Aye..."

* * *

"Why does the universe hate me..?" Alumina moaned as she stumbled to a stop, and collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily. Happy stopped and flopped down beside her on his stomach, panting.

"Where does that woman come up with all of these traps..?" Happy asked and Alumina shook her head, still trying to steady her breathing.

The hope that they wouldn't run into anymore traps had soon been crushed. Spikes, monsters, carnivorous plants, pitfalls... you name it. The Maze was covered in all manner of hindrances and dangerous creatures. They had only just come to a stop from running away from a swarm of flying monsters with razor sharp talons.

They managed to get away by sprinting for a good ten minutes, leaving the creatures behind but not without receiving a few minor scratches each. Alumina sat on her heels and rested her hands on her thighs, head hanging as her heart rate and breathing slowly went down.

Now they had been inside the Maze for almost an hour, and still no sign of Erza, or the woman that had put them here. And considering they hadn't gotten out of the maze yet, that meant Erza hadn't managed to find the woman and defeat her yet either. They had no idea where Erza was, or the woman.

_How long are we gonna end up spending in here?_

Alumina glanced over at Happy to see him sit up and let out a heavy sigh, and she bit her lip when she saw a long shallow scratch running down his shoulder, blood trickling out of it slowly.

"Are you ok?" Alumina asked and Happy looked at her.

"I think so." He replied and glanced at the scratch on his shoulder with narrowed eyes. "It only stings a little." He mumbled and Alumina sighed. She let her head hang as she closed her eyes, the shadow of her hair covering her face.

"Sorry you got dragged into all of this.." She told him quietly and Happy blinked up at her in surprise.

"Don't be sorry!" Happy told her sternly. "I'm the one who asked to come! You didn't force me to come along, and I'm glad I did." Happy told her firmly and Alumina glanced his way. Happy smiled at her and lifted a paw in the air, "This is the most fun I've had in a long time!" He grinned and Alumina smiled a little too.

"I'm glad you came too, Happy." She told him softly and Happy just smiled wider in response. Alumina straightened up and clenched her fist, determined smile spreading across her face. "All right, lets find Erza and beat this Game!" Alumina smiled and Happy nodded, his own determined grin spreading across his face.

"Aye sir!"

They got to their feet, and Alumina took the lead as Happy floated at her shoulder. They had stopped off in a place where the path suddenly veered off to the right suddenly, that turn was just a bit ahead of them. They started that way, having nowhere else to go unless they wanted to turn back, which wasn't appealing when they thought of the traps and creatures they had already run into back that way.

They turned the corner without a second glance and followed the path as it lead them forward, not turning of anywhere or splitting up into another path along the way. They kept walking for a good twenty minutes, managing only to have Happy fly into one trap, stringing him up side down to hang in the air. Alumina laughed at the little blue creature, before quickly helping out of the mess, and they continued on.

They both perked up when they saw the path turn right up ahead, instead of going on straight as it had been doing. As they neared the turn, they both slowed down to hear loud thuds and rustling.

"What is that..?" Happy mumbled and Alumina narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know... Hold on, and stay quiet.." Alumina ordered and Happy stopped, nodding at her to show he understood. Alumina pressed herself up against the hedge as the noises around the corner stopped, and all she could hear was the sound of heavy footfalls getting closer. She stopped with her back up against the hedge, just as she reached the corner, and she pulled her staff out of her Magic Storage slowly.

She had put it away while they had been running, but now she needed it. Straining her ears, she locked on to the foot-falls and frowned. The familiar clink of armor wasn't reaching her, so she guessed it wasn't Erza.

_It must be that woman..._

Alumina raised her staff and crossed it in front of her, waiting for the perfect moment to swing out and catch whoever was coming as they rounded the corner. Her eyes closed as she listened to the footsteps get closer and closer...

Alumina's eyes snapped open and she swung her staff around as she stepped around the corner, eyes narrowed. Her staff made a cold sharp noise as it hit the sword that had been raised up to meet it in an instant, and she blinked in shock at who stood before her. _Red-hair..._

Alumina jumped back and lowered her staff, sweating like crazy and quickly bowing several times, looking very flustered and nervous. Now she would _hate_ to feel the wrath of _that_ person for attacking her like that.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to go after you like that! I thought you were someone else.." Alumina closed her eyes, still bent over in a bow and eyes shut. "Forgive me." She said quietly.

Erza blinked at Alumina, surprised to see her there, and even more surprised that Alumina had jumped out at her like she did. She wasn't wearing her regular armor, instead she was wearing the simple red and orange pants, no shoes, her hair tied up, and her chest wrapped in white bandages instead of a shirt. In her hand was held one of her regular swords, which she slowly lowered after Alumina jumped away.

Erza chuckled and smiled, "Its alright, don't worry about it." Erza told Alumina who looked up and sighed in relief. Happy came around the corner and smiled widely upon seeing Erza.

"Erza!" He exclaimed and crashed into her chest.

"Happy?" Erza murmured as she looked down at him. "I thought that woman had you, I've been looking for you everywhere." She said and looked toward Alumina. "You too, what happened? How did you get away from that woman, Happy?" Erza asked and Happy got off of her.

"Alumina saved me before you two were sent away!" Happy exclaimed and Erza blinked in surprise at him, before glancing at Alumina.

"Did you?" Erza asked and Alumina nodded a little. "That's impressive, you couldn't have had more than a few seconds before we were transported." Erza told her and Alumina smiled sheepishly.

"It was nothing..." Alumina told her, a faint pink dusting her cheeks at the complement as she rubbed her arm a little out of embarrassment. Erza's gaze rested on the bandages wrapping around Alumina's arm where the sword had gotten her, but she didn't press the matter.

"Don't be modest!' Erza smiled, "Now that we're all together, all that's left is finding that woman and defeating her." Erza said, her expression turning serious and both Happy and Alumina nodded.

Erza requiped into her normal armor and her sword disappeared momentarily as she stepped past them, waving at hand at the two and motioning for them to follow.

"Come on you two." Erza called over shoulder and they began to follow her. "I found out how we are going to find the woman." Erza explained.

Happy and Alumina blinked, "How did you figure out where she is?" Happy asked and Erza smiled.

"I had a fight with a Chimera a bit ago." Erza explained. "It took a bit of convincing, but eventually I got him to tell me where to find her." Erza replied and both Alumina and Happy's eyes widened.

Alumina may not have been in the Guild long, but she had definitely seen Erza's scary side, and she knew how powerful the red-heads wrath was. She could only imagine what Erza had down to that Chimera to make it talk.

Alumina sweatdropped at the thought.

* * *

**Sorry I'm so late updating! Enjoy! Follows, favorites and reviews are always appreciated! And thank you to all of you who reviewed, I love hearing your thoughts on the story!**


	13. Chapter 13- Cheater!

**Thanks to all of you who have followed, reviewed, and added this story to your favorites! I would also like to thank any and all of you for following me, and adding me to you favorite authors list! It means a lot, thanks again!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Cheater!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, and my Ideas**

Alumina and Happy followed Erza in silence as the redhead lead them deeper and deeper into the maze. Both Happy and Alumina were on high alert for any more traps that were sure to be this way, having already set off more than a few themselves before they found Erza.

Erza however, didn't seem at all worried by the possibility of any traps. Instead, she just walked along with a neutral face, no stress, no visible wariness to anything. It sort of seemed like Erza just didn't even care if she ran into a trap.

Strangely enough, as they walked along for close to twenty minutes they hadn't managed to run into a single trap. Nothing. No spikes, no monsters, no holes, nothing.

They had to wonder why, it couldn't just be luck could it? Or maybe Erza had forced that Chimera she had interrogated to tell her the way without any traps in it.

Alumina exchanged a glance with Happy, and she could see her own curiosity reflected in his eyes. He was wondering the same, and Alumina decided she ought to just ask.

"Hey Erza?" She began. Erza didn't glance back at her,

"Yes?" The red-head replied.

"Isn't it a little odd we haven't run into anymore traps?" Alumina asked and she heard Erza let out a small chuckle.

"Not at all." She replied. "This path has been promised to me, to be completely trap free as we make out way toward our target." Erza assured the two and Alumina and Happy let out low sighs.

Silence passed over the group again as they continued on, and before long a large dark metal gate rose up in front of them. The space behind the gate was dark and nothing could be made out of the mist that floated above the ground on the other side. The sky above the other side was dark with clouds that only seemed to appear over that area.

Their small group came to a halt in front of the gate, Alumina and Happy stared wide-eyed up at it while Erza's gaze just passed over slowly as her expression remained neutral.

"It looks like some kind of Scary Graveyard..." Happy mumbled beside her, but Alumina didn't even bother to glance his way. He was right, what lay before them looked like some kind of scary movie scene.

"She's inside there?" Alumina asked as she looked to Erza, who glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

"She is, be alert. I don't know what we'll find inside of the gate." Erza warned and Alumina and Happy nodded stiffly to show they understood as Erza stepped forward and slowly pushed the heavy gate open.

It creaked on its hinges and a chilly wind blew out from the other side for a minute. Happy and Alumina shivered violently, and Alumina glanced up at him as she heard him gulp a bit loudly.

She saw how nervous he looked at the thought of going inside, and she cast him a reassuring smile, which caused him to smile a little back.

Erza lead the way in confidently, but she did Requip a sword into her hand, her gaze sweeping over the shadows in the other side of the gate as she remained alert for anything and everything. As they stepped in, the gate shut closed behind them loudly, causing both Happy and Alumina to jump a little.

They continued on into the shadows, the mist swirling around their feet becoming thicker as they traveled in more. There wasn't anything around, no bushes, trees, no more hedges even as far as they could see. It only got darker as they kept walking, and silence settled over the group like a thick blanket.

"Looks like you found each-other." A calm cool voice echoed around in the darkness causing them to all come to a stop. "And you managed to get through the maze without too much trouble.." Alumina recognized the voice as the woman's, and she grasped onto her staff harder.

"Petty traps such as the ones you set out were not hard to overcome." Erza replied, eyes searching for the source of the voice. "Lets finish this game, show yourself!" Erza demanded.

They all whipped around as the woman from before stepped out of the shadows and approached them calmly. Her orange eyes lifted from the ground to sweep over them all, as she came to a halt with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes, yes... To finish the game you have to defeat me, those were the rules." The woman said quietly as her gaze landed on Erza. She frowned deeply and turned a furious look on Alumina. "You cheated." She growled at the blonde and Alumina stiffened. "You broke the rules of the game just as it started, by saving that tiny useless fur-ball." Her orange eyes flicked toward Happy for a split second.

Alumina narrowed her eyes at the woman and went into a defensive stance along with Erza and Happy.

"So, that's why I'm changing the game a little." The woman growled as swiped a hand surrounded in her Magic in Alumina's direction. Alumina gasped in surprise as a box made of glass sprung up around her, trapping her inside along with Happy.

In an instant her hands and legs were tied up with rope and she fell to the floor, suddenly off balance. Happy fell along with her, his paws and feet also bound suddenly. Alumina grunted as she hit the floor, her staff clattering against it as it fell as well, and looked up to see Erza racing toward the glass prison, sword in hand.

She swung out at the glass, but her sword just bounced off, not even leaving a scratch on the smooth clear surface. Erza tried again and again to break the glass, requiping into several different types of armor but to no avail.

**No One POV**

"It won't work." The woman told her and Erza turned her way. "She cheated, this is the punishment. You will only have a certain amount of time to defeat me, saving your friends, and winning the game." The woman snapped her fingers as water suddenly sprung up from the middle of the glass box Alumina and Happy were in, slowly starting to fill it up.

Alumina struggled to get up, pushing herself onto her knees and leaning against the glass as she did so. Happy managed to push himself up into a sitting position too as they both stared down at the water already covering the entire bottom half of the box for an inch or so.

Erza narrowed her eyes at the box as the water started to fill it up, and she looked back at the woman who was smiling at her the slightest bit. "Can you take me down before they drown?" She asked and Erza frowned at her.

Erza held her sword up and requiped into her Flight Armor and pointed one of her now two swords at the woman. "If this is what you wish, so be it. Get ready," Erza's face darkened and the woman smirked more, not looking at all fazed by the dangerous look in Erza's eye. "I will stop at nothing to save my Guild-Mates."

With that, Erza launched after the woman and began her battle.

**Alumina POV**

Alumina struggled against the ropes tying her up, and she let out a low hiss of pain as the rough rope began to cut into her skin a little. To her left, Happy was also struggling against the binds on his paws and feet.

The water only seemed to be filling up the box faster, not reaching her mid thigh as she was settled on her knees. "I... I can't get free..." Happy growled under his breath and Alumina glanced his way.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Erza will beat her." Alumina assured him and Happy looked her way. He gave her a small hopeful smile and she smiled back, but she wasn't so sure right now. Erza and the woman were going at it, getting faster and faster.

Erza would use her excellent swordsmanship to swing out at the woman in then most spectacular and complex ways, while the woman easily dodged it and blocked the blows with her own sword. Occasionally the woman's magic would flare up around her, and spears, lances, and other things would stream Erza's way, though the redhead always dodged the attacks.

Alumina found herself wondering what kind of Magic the woman was using. Alumina narrowed her eyes when the woman's magic spiraled around above Erza, and a huge creature jumped out of it. It had the head and body of a huge, one story tall lion, horns spiraling out on the sides of its head, its back legs ram's hooves, and its tail reptilian like. It was a chimera that jumped out of it, landing on the ground with a loud thud, Erza just barely managing to get out of the way in time.

The chimera visibly started shaking when it laid its pale green eyes on Erza, and looked toward the woman. "Mistress! Do I have to?!" It whined and the woman nodded.

Erza smirked at the creature, "Ah, it's you again!" She said cheerfully and the chimera flinched at the sound of her voice. "Ready for a re-match?" She asked and the chimera backed away, its pale brown fur glistening in the sunlight as the sun began to set over them.

Alumina sweatdropped, Erza seemed so easily distracted by the prospect of a re-match, so much that she forgot about the issue at hand.

"I wish she would focus on that lady..." Happy mumbled and Alumina nodded. Alumina struggled against the bonds more, the water was now just a little past her waist level, almost covering Happy's nose.

"M-mistress!" Her gaze snapped back when she heard the chimera let out the yell, and she saw him pinned under the iron grasp of Erza, who was smirking.

"Go back, Moldy!" The woman ordered as the chimera smiled in relief, and it disappeared in a flash of the woman's magic. Erza looked toward the woman again as the chimera disappeared.

"I'm interested now, I've never seen Magic like yours." Erza raced forward. "What is it?" She asked, her sword hitting against the woman's sword as she got near.

"GameMaker Magic." The woman replied with a smirk.

"A-Alumina...!" Alumina's head snapped to the left as he heard Happy stutter the words. The water level had risen above his head now, and he was having trouble trying to stay above the surface, not being able to properly swim with his paws and legs tied together.

"Happy!" She gasped and reached forward, bring her arms over his head, and hooking her arms around his waist as best she could with her hands tied together, and pulled him to her chest, keeping his head above the water.

Happy spit out some water and glanced up at her, "Thanks..." He told her quietly. She leaned up against the side of the box, pushing herself to stand up and lean against it to prevent herself from falling over, trying to keep the water below Happy's head as the it kept rising higher and higher.

_Please hurry Erza..._

But even as the water reached her stomach, Erza still had not been able to take down the woman. Alumina closed her eyes tight as she desperately thought of something to do.

_Damn it...! Shit... What can I do? Do I have something to help out...? Cut these ropes maybe...?_

But she couldn't think of anything, there was nothing but a spare staff in her Magic Storage, both that she was sure she could take anything out being bound up as she was. With her hands being tied she couldn't grab one of her keys either...

Alumina lifted Happy up higher to help keep his head level with hers, and she sweatdropped. The water would be above their heads any minute, and Erza still had not beat the woman. Alumina tilted her head up, as did Happy as they tried to stay away from the water.

"Happy, take a deep breath and hold it for as long as you can." Alumina ordered, as both she and Happy sucked in air, and their heads were plunged under the water.

Within the next minute, the entire box was filled with water. Alumina opened her eyes under the water, and pulled against the bonds again, but they wouldn't break.

_Damn it think!_

She had to get to one of her keys, otherwise they would drown before too long. Alumina caught Happy's glance as she unhooked her arms from him, and he slowly sink down to the bottom of the box.

Alumina struggled to twist her hands around to reach her keys, that hung from her belt. Her fingers just grazed the top of the keyring, but she couldn't reach her hand around more to grab it.

Her lungs were screaming at her for air, but there was no air to breath in here. She twisted around to try and grab the keyring again, just barely managing to wrap her fingers around it, and pull it off her belt.

She cast a quick glance at Happy to see him with his eyes closed, as he coughed out, sending small air bubbles up. Alumina fumbled to grasp onto one of the gold keys, and held it out in front of her as she let the rest of them sink to the bottom of the box.

The key glowed with golden light as she channeled her Magic into it, repeating the lines in her head to open the gate up.

Her golden magic circle appeared before her as the water swirled out of control, and a certain bad-tempered mermaid appeared inside with them. Aquarius cast her a devilish look, not looking at all pleased with the cramped conditions inside the box.

"Out of all the dumps I have been summoned into, this is the worst!" Aquarius's voice vibrated all around them in the water. Suddenly she gave them an evil grin, a glint coming into her eye. "Oh.. In a little of a pinch, aren't you?" She asked.

Alumina cast her a pleading look, coughing out the same as Happy had, and sucking in a little water without her control, before forcing her mouth shut. Aquarius didn't seem to find the thought of her KeyHolder drowning to be pleasant at the moment, so instead she let out a huff and raised her jug above her head.

"Tch... Whatever," Aquarius muttered, the water began to swirl around and around in the box, catching Alumina and Happy up in its current as it pounded against the glass walls. Alumina coughed out in pain as she was thrown into a wall by the current, then suddenly found herself being carried out of the box by the water as one side of the glass shattered from the force of Aquarius's attack.

The water even formed into a huge wave as it moved out rapidly, carrying both Happy and Alumina in it. Alumina sucked in air as soon as it became available, only to swallow a whole mouthful again as the water washed over her head again, the cause of being in the midst of Aquarius's next attack.

**No One POV**

The wave swarmed out, heading toward the woman and Erza before either of them realized it. The force of water washed over Erza and the Woman, its crushing force bearing down on them in an instant. The woman with the orange eyes was swept away, and smacked straight into the gate they had passed through earlier.

The water level went down, leaving Erza standing, drenched, but looking as if she hadn't even noticed the wave passing over her. Happy was laying on his stomach, looking dazed as the water dripped off the tips of his ears. The woman seemed to have been knocked unconscious as she lay on her back beneath the gate.

Alumina lay on her side a little ways away from the gate, she coughed up the water onto the ground, before letting out a long sigh, panting and trying to catch her breath.

Aquarius floated over and looked down at her KeyHolder, and Alumina glanced up at her slowly.

**Alumina POV**

Alumina glanced up at her spirit as the mermaid stopped beside her, not even bothering to try and get up. She couldn't help but notice the semi-amused look that Aquarius gave her, and sighed silently.

"Lets get one thing straight, _master_." Aquarius muttered. "If you ever call me out somewhere like that again, you _will_ drown next time." Aquarius told her and Alumina wearily nodded her head.

"Got it." She murmured. Aquarius smirked at the answer, then smiled, hearts coming into her eyes.

"Now, I'm off to go on a date." The mermaid told her in a rather smug tone. Alumina sighed and looked away,

"Alright, have fun." Alumina replied. "Thanks for saving me." She said quietly, just before Aquarius disappeared back into the Spirit World.

Alumina let her eyes slowly closed as she worked on just bringing her heart rate down and letting her breathing ease until she was no longer panting.

"Alumina?" Happy's voice called out to her.

"Are you alright?" Erza asked as she heard the redhead's armor clinking together as she approached her. Alumina opened her eyes again and glanced up to see Erza and Happy hovering over her.

Happy looked worried, so did Erza, but the red-head still looked pretty calm. She smiled wearily at them,

"Sure." She answered. "Mind cutting the ropes though?" She asked. In an instant, Erza's sword easily cut the ropes apart and Alumina sat up, rubbing the back of her neck and sighing once again. Happy placed a paw on her knee as he looked up at her,

"Are you sure your ok?" He asked as she smiled at the little blue creature, rubbing the top of his head affectionately for a minute.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Half-drowned maybe, but what about you?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"Great! Thanks to you, Lumie!" He smiled and Alumina blinked as he used Ursa's nickname for her, before smiling back. Erza held out her hand and Alumina took it, the redhead easily pulling her to her feet. The water had knocked her hair out of her low pigtails, so it hung loosely and around her face, her left eye still completely covered by the damp strands.

Erza handed Alumina's staff to her, and she took it gratefully, "Thanks." She murmured.

"Forgive me." Erza said suddenly and Alumina and Happy blinked at her. "I was unable to save you before the water rose all the way." Erza said as her face fell, suddenly looking very bothered. "I am a failure." She said, "You may strike me now as punishment for my incompetence!"

Alumina and Happy blinked in shock at the sudden change in attitude by the redhead, and Alumina exchanged a quick glance with Happy.

She sweatdropped a little and smiled nervously at the redhead, waving her hands in front of her a little as a gesture of no. "That's ok Erza, don't feel bad about it, you did your best." She told her quickly and Erza straightened up, she had gone into a bow as she spoke.

"You are to kind." Erza told her. Suddenly the sky began to lighten as the clouds and mist disappeared, until they found themselves standing amongst the pine trees they had even in when they found the small Guild at the beginning of the day. Scattered around, the men they had knocked out were still lying unconscious everywhere.

They all glanced over to see the woman slowly sitting up, groaning in pain as she held her head.

"You... You won... I'll admit it..." The woman groaned and they all stiffened when her magic blazed up beside her, and the same Chimera from earlier, who seemed to be named Moldy, stepped out of it.

Though this time, Moldy was smaller, only the size of baby elephant. Moldy stepped in front of the woman, guarding her from the Fairy Tail Mages.

"You will not take my Mistress." Moldy growled at them, bearing his fangs. "I will not let you." Moldy growled dangerously. Erza took a step toward them, Moldy flinching slightly at the action, but he stood his ground.

You had to give him credit, he dared to stand up to Titania Erza.

The woman struggled to get to her feet, but managed to, and leaned against Moldy a little to keep herself upright.

"Thank you, Moldy." The woman murmured as her magic spiraled around them. The Fairy Tail Mages sprang forward, but the woman and Moldy disappeared in an instant.

"They're gone..." Happy mumbled. Erza let out a sigh beside them, her sword disappearing back into her Magic Storage, a rope replacing it in her hand.

"There's nothing we can do about it now." Erza told them. "Lets tie this hooligans up and call the Magic Counsel, then head home." She told the two as she turned as started rounding up the unconscious men.

Alumina paused a minute, then looked down as she felt Happy tap her leg. He held up her ring of keys in his paws, and she smiled at him, taking them and placing them back on her belt.

"Thanks."

* * *

**Thank you all for being so patient with me! I'm sorry I haven't posted faster, and on that note, if you happen to be reading 'Energy Magic' I regret to inform you that I still haven't finished a chapter for it. **

**Boy, what a long chapter! Please follow, favorite and review if you can! I love to hear what you guys think of the story so far!**

**Enjoy!**


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